Five Questions with Creators: Zack Kaplan

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Zack Kaplan

By Zack Quaintance —  Writer Zack Kaplan is on the rise in comics. He’s currently writing three new and exciting series: Eclipse and Port of Earth for Image’s Top Cow imprint, and Lost City Explorers for AfterShock Comics. Both Eclipse and Lost City Explorers have also been optioned for TV, with the latter getting the call pretty quick after its first issue. It’s impressive stuff, and as fans of his work, we wouldn’t be surprised to see more success coming Kaplan’s way soon.

With that in mind, we recently talked to Kaplan for a new feature we’re launching on the site: Five Questions with Creators. It’s exactly what it sounds like. No more explaining needed...so, let’s get right to it!

1. I’ve seen in other interviews and your own notes with Eclipse that you’ve had some pretty interesting jobs...so, what are the most interesting jobs you’ve had (aside from creating comics)?

I mean, people may know I was a poker dealer and a SAT tutor, but I’ll tell you, one of the most interesting jobs I had was a movie trailer surveyor. I did temp work for a data entry company and they would input surveys measuring audience reaction to movie trailers. I punched in thousands of these surveys, and then I asked, hey, who does this? Someone goes to movie theaters and watches how the audience reacts to each trailer and gives it an “Okay” or “Good” or “Great”, and sure enough, there were a ton of people doing this around the country and sending in their data. So I said, “Can I do that?” and they said sure. For about two months, I went and watched movies and before the movie started, I would go to the different theaters and showtimes and gauge audience reaction, which was a completely subjective and random measurement. My own personal evaluation of whether people thought that Mission Impossible movie trailer looked good or great. It was a very random guess, but they reported this data to the studios, and they probably made pivotal decisions based on my keen insights. And I got to tell people I get paid to go watch movies. That was pretty interesting!

2. How do things like having been a poker dealer on the graveyard shirt or having taught screenwriting in the Philippines inform your stories?

I’m a big people watcher. I’ve always enjoyed jobs that allow me to watch and interact with people. Characters in stories are three dimensions, but people are like eight dimensions, and I’ve always found that fascinating. Being a poker dealer, I got to see a lot of interesting people and how they handle the challenges of an involved game like poker, but that was mostly people-watching. Teaching writing is a far more interactive practice, where you have to not just communicate the principles of the craft, but in a workshop setting, identify each student’s needs and address them in a way that helps that student improve. At the end of the day, I think all those experiences help me better understand that people are complex, and I try to capture those complexities and nuances in my writing.

Port of Earth #8 came out this Wednesday.

3. When and how did you first become interested in writing comics?

It began in 2002 when I came back to comics. I had read superheroes growing up, but when I discovered Brian K Vaughn’s Y THE LAST MAN or Greg Rucka’s QUEEN AND COUNTRY or everything Warren Ellis, I realized how diverse and multi-faceted the medium was. I got to see it through adult eyes and gained a whole new appreciation for it. I began reading and collecting a lot of creator-owned comics. I was already pursuing writing in film and TV, but I think that was when the seed was planted: cool writers write cool and original stories in comics. From then, whenever I thought of a story idea, and wondered if it would make a good movie or TV show, I started to wonder about comics. And finally, I took the plunge and decided I wanted to write a comic series too. I spent years trying to land a pitch. When I finally landed ECLIPSE, I still thought I was writing a comic, and it wasn’t until it came out that I realized I was becoming a comic book creator.

4. Your career trajectory has been really cool to watch...what’s the most important piece of advice you’d give to someone who is where you were years ago and would love to eventually be where you are now?

When I finally landed ECLIPSE, I was very nervous. I’m a perfectionist and I wanted it to be great. And that’s simply too much pressure. So, I had to tell myself, Zack, this is not the one. This series, it can be good, you can do your best, but in your life, this one isn’t the one. This is the one that leads to the one. And that allowed me to do two things. Write without such pressure. And realize another important lesson. If I’m just writing good stuff until I get to the one, and none of these are the one, then I’m the one. I’m the product. And as a writer, or an artist, or any creative, I think if you realize that you are building a career of many projects and stories, and some will be good, and some will not, but overall, you are building a long career of creating, that thinking helps. It helps new creators to think small and create a lot of short content to get their names out, it helps inspire creators to work on lots of projects, because you never know which one will be the one. Who knows, maybe ECLIPSE will actually be the one, after all. Maybe not. I’m just busy writing lots of stories now, I can’t think about which one is the one.

5. Lost City Explorers seems to me like a classic teen adventure story for 2018...what are some of your favorite classic teen adventure movies?

Oh, where to begin! GOONIES! INDIANA JONES! Is ET an adventure movie? I think so! How about NEVER ENDING STORY or EXPLORERS? LABYRINTH or BACK TO THE FUTURE? I loved all of that fun, maybe campy stuff from the ‘80s. But I think what inspired THE LOST CITY EXPLORERS was wanting to have my version of those stories but without the 1980s nostalgia. It seemed like whenever people made those stories, they always had a nostalgia to them. I wondered what would a teen adventure look like in modern times. I’ve seen teen dramas. I’ve seen big world teen stories like HARRY POTTER or HUNGER GAMES, but those aren’t our world. So yes, THE LOST CITY EXPLORERS is my teen adventure but in our very own modern times!

+1. Do you remember the worst sunburn you’ve ever had...and do you ever think about it while you’re writing Eclipse?

When I was growing up, I went on a ski trip and got my face so burned, the skin was peeling off. My nose was a mess, and, of course, I came back to high school and they were taking the class pictures. Ugh! But this was years and years ago. The crazy thing is nowadays, it’s not even enough to put on sunscreen once for a day at the beach or a day outside. You have to reapply. The sun is becoming more and more deadly to us. This is happening, and 50 years from now, who knows how bad it will be. That’s what I love about the concept behind ECLIPSE. The sun is supposed to be this positive, happy, plant-growing force in our lives, but everyone secretly harbors a hatred to the sun and the one time it totally burned them. Screw you sun, we never forget!

Click here for a review of Eclipse #9 and here for a review of Lost City Explorers #1.

Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.

The Saga Re-Read: Saga #1 and Foreshadowing

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The lewd-yet-mundane opening panel is an ocassional Saga tradition that started way back in issue #1.

By Zack Quaintance & Cory Webber — Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples recently announced a 1-year (minimum) intermission for Saga, our favorite ongoing comic here at Batman’s Bookcase. To be blunt, we’re ambivalent. We know artistic inspiration is fleeting and intangible, and that one cannot always just will it into being. Great work is often done by creators who are rested, happy, unstressed. Basically, we know even massive talents like Vaughan and Staples need a break.

That’s our logical stance. Emotionally, however, we’re bummed to go an entire year without Saga, and so we’ve decided to occupy ourselves by undertaking an idea we saw on Twitter: during Saga’s 52-week (minimum) intermission, we’re going to re-read the series in its entirety, one issue per week.

We’re going to talk about what happens (briefly), share observations made with the benefit of hindsight, and wrap up each installment with impressions from a first-time reader. We’re going to keep spoilers to a minimum to make this accessible for veteran Saga fans and newbies alike. And we’re going to invite you all to join us—like a massive and amorphous online book club, without the part where everyone meets to talk about it for a few minutes before devolving into unrelated conversations and drinking lots of wine.

Anyway...there you have it. Check back each Friday for the next year (gulp!) as we discuss our re-read of Saga.

Saga #1

Here’s the official preview text for Saga #1:

A rare scene of the two species in combat. The war the series is so heavily informed by is afterward waged mostly off panel.

Y: THE LAST MAN writer BRIAN K. VAUGHAN returns to comics with red-hot artist FIONA STAPLES for an all-new ONGOING SERIES!  Star Wars-style action collides with Game of Thrones-esque drama in this original sci-fi/fantasy epic for mature readers, as new parents Marko and Alana risk everything to raise their child amidst a never-ending galactic war. The adventure begins in a spectacular DOUBLE-SIZED FIRST ISSUE, with forty-four pages of story with no ads for the regular price of just $2.99!

That’s a decent description, although the Game of Thrones comp is off...there is no dynastic politicking to be found here. Saga #1 definitely has hints of Star Wars, though, including but not limited to this killer line: It was a time of war. Isn’t it always.

This is overall a great debut, one that orients the reader in the world of Saga and also introduces a number of excellent character designs, including Lying Cat, Prince Robot IV, and the utterly fantastical chaos our young family encounters at the Uncanny Bridge. What this debut perhaps does best from a script perspective is establish the relatable dynamic between Marko and Alana, our two central lovers. In fact, a better solicitation might have been Star Wars-style action collides with Romeo and Juliet-esque drama if the star-crossed lovers had managed to have a child…but in 2012 (same as today), George R.R. Martin was a far more relatable reference than ol’ Willy Shakespeare. Sigh. 

This foreshadowing is yet to come to fruition, although it is established a few panels later that Alana carries a non-lethal weapon called a heart breaker...

Veteran and First-Timer Perspectives

A Re-Reader’s Perspective by Zack: What’s most interesting to me is the foreshadowing. So much plot is hinted at by via quick lines. I won’t go into detail (spoiler free, after all), but for re-readers I don’t have to. In terms of craft, Vaughan’s preference for exploring family dynamics versus war is evident. Staples art, meanwhile, is noticeably rougher—in everything from colors to linework—but her ambitious and unique designs are here from the start. Last, I’ll just note that a Saga tradition—the lewd-yet-mundane first panel—is the perfect place for our story to start.

Veteran readers who are all caught up show also checkout Why Saga #54 Hurts So Bad.

 

A New Reader’s Perspective by Cory Webber:  Wow! Okay, I get why I’ve heard fans hyping this book since I started reading comics four years ago. First, Saga #1’s world building is uncanny. After just one issue, I feel like I’ve been living in their same universe. Also, Vaughan writes these characters as if they’re real people he’s known for a lifetime. They are flawed, emotional beings—none more so than Alana and Marko—and I find myself sympathetic toward almost all of them (hey, I’m just not sure about The Will and Lying Cat right now, okay?!). Out of the gate, Alana is my favorite...she is witty, feisty, sardonic. I did, however, have to re-read this book a couple of times due to its length. This issue is dense, yet it’s not overly complicated, nor is it filled with any inconsequential fluff. It’s just so detailed that you really have to pay attention. All this, and I haven’t even mentioned Staples’ art. She brings an enormous amount of emotion and humanity to her characters through their faces and postures. Even, surprisingly, for characters that have TVs for heads. I’m excited to finally be starting this journey, and can’t wait to see where this goes...even though I hear the final issue before the hiatus is a real heartbreaking note to end on.

Cory’s New Reader Prediction: The last page shows Alana and Marko with the baby, along with a narration from an older Hazel that makes me think one of them won't make it past #54. There’s no way Alana will be killed off, so I’m guessing Marko kicks the bucket along the way. I sure hope I am wrong!

Thanks for joining us, and be sure to check back next Friday for a discussion of Saga #2!

Cory Webber is a work-from-home entrepreneur who also reads and reviews comics for fun. Find him on Twitter at @CeeEssWebber. He lives in Lehi, Utah with his wife and three sons.

Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.

LYING.

Fantastic Four #1 (1961) and the Birth of the Marvel Universe

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Fantastic Four #1 (1961) is universally recognized as a landmark comic and, in many ways, the start of the Marvel Universe.

By Theron Couch — The Fantastic Four returned to comics this week for the first time in years, following the 2015 event Secret Wars, which essentially ended with Reed and Sue Richards, as well as their children, wandering off the rebuild the multiverse. Without an ongoing title staring Marvel’s First Family, comics just haven’t felt the same. One could even argue there would be no Marvel Universe without The Fantastic Four, the first of many memorable characters created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.  

With all that in mind, it’s worth checking out the original Fantastic Four #1 from 1961, taking a closer look at how Lee and Kirby did it the first time.

Fantastic Four #1 (1961): The Story

Fantastic Four #1 opens with a call to action: Mr. Fantastic has sent the signal for the Fantastic Four to assemble. Sue, Ben, and Johnny each abandon what they’re doing and race back to headquarters. As the team arrives, the story flashes back to their origin, wherein an ambitious Reed Richards wants to initiate a mission to space. To do so, the foursome sneak aboard a rocket and launch. This trip has unintended consequences, with cosmic rays granting different powers to each of them. Realizing that they are more effective as a team than they are apart, they return to Earth and become The Fantastic Four, using their powers in tandem to benefit mankind.

Once the flashback has ended, the team is off to Monster Isle, where they believe someone is causing cave-ins across the world. This someone is revealed to be the Mole Man, who intends to launch his monsters all over the planet. Fortunately, The Fantastic Four are able to seal the Mole Man away forever, ending his threat.

Fantastic Four #1 (1961): The Art

Kirby’s art in Fantastic Four #1 deserves much praise, which is unsurprising given that this is The King, Jack Kirby. His work here delivers a dynamic opening sequence that showcases the powers of all four main characters. He packs a great deal of visual information on every page with layouts that often exceed six panels. What always strikes me about Kirby’s art—and which is on display in full here—is his ability to convey characters’ emotions through facial expressions. Doing so continues to elude many comic artists even today, and Kirby—whether it is images of the main characters or random soldiers never to be seen again—knocks this trick business out of the park in every panel.

Fantastic Four #1 (1961): The Writing

Writing wise, Fantastic Four #1 is every bit a story from a bygone era. Lee pens an origin for a four-person team as well as an adventure that begins and concludes in the space of one issue, rather than standing as the first part of an arc designed to fill a trade paperback. Fantastic Four #1 has much in common with other Marvel comics of its time, wherein Stan Lee created memorable characters starring in plots that are almost afterthoughts. Indeed, the final battle with the Mole Man is handled in one page and conveyed almost entirely through narration, rather than stunning visuals or complex dialogue. This is a comic book that definitely tells rather than shows. Despite these quaint characteristics, however, Lee displays surprising sophistication in how he tells the story.

The pages in Fantastic Four (1961) all feature more than 9 panels, a stark contrast to today's often less-dense superhero comics.

Fantastic Four #1 begins, as I noted at the start, in media res with Mr. Fantastic sending out a call for the whole Fantastic Four to assemble. Brief vignettes show each character making their way to headquarters; en route they are put in positions to showcase their powers for the reader. Once the team has assembled, but before the crisis is revealed, the story flashes back to the team’s origin, which cements the relationships between characters and reveals their motives while simultaneously building suspense for whatever threat forced the team to be called together. Following the origin story, the team goes on its mission to Monster Isle only to be split up, which allows for the story to be intercut, preserving the suspense for as long as possible before revealing the Mole Man’s origin and, finally, taking readers through the final battle.

Overall, Fantastic Four #1 is undoubtedly a product of its time. It’s almost hard to take seriously a comic book that features Ben Grimm wearing a rain slicker to a place called Monster Isle, subsequently taking the rain slicker off before fighting a monster, and then putting it back on until he comes upon the next monster. Yet, the way its plot unfolds is also without question an influence on later comics that routinely use time—including flashbacks and intercuts—to tell stories, a technique that was novel back when this issue was first published. The five pages devoted to the team’s origin could almost have been left out, given the action-packed opening Lee and Kirby delivered. In spite of all that, this is just a well-designed comic book, easily one of the best I’ve read from the period, and one that I’d put up against many modern origin issues.

Theron Couch is a writer, blogger, and comic book reviewer. His first novel, The Loyalty of Pawns, is available on Amazon. You can also follow him on Twitter at @theroncouch.

Top Comics of July 2018

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By Zack Quaintance — Maybe I’m suffering from recency bias, but I’m hard-pressed to think of a summer in my life (I’m 22 give or take...SEVERAL years) as good for comics as this. Seriously. There are top-notch stories being told at both major superhero publishers—with characters ranging from Mister Miracle to Captain America—while the creator-owned market hits unprecedented peaks for variety and quality.

Being in the midst of this wave is a blessing and challenge for writing lists like this. Obviously, I don’t lack titles, but it’s tough to narrow things down. I recently faced the same dilemma sorting the Best New #1 Comics of July. My answer is do it and spend the next month regretting choices. Act recklessly and then deal...that’s a strategy I’ve long employed.

Joking aside, I put a lot of thought into this month’s list, agonizing until I landed on the titles below. Sooooo—let’s do this!

Shout Outs

Batman #50 was a good comic with a messy release (the above variant cover is by Jae Lee).

Let’s start with a mess: Batman #50 and the spoiler fiasco. I didn’t get spoiled (thankfully), but I’m sympathetic to all who did. Regardless, this was a fine issue with a welcome twist, especially if as Tom King says, this is the run’s halfway point.

Have you all read IDW’s Black Crown imprint? You should. July saw the end of two early titles: Assassanistas and Punks Not Dead. Put simply, what a glorious wave of odd books, heavy on craft, humor, subversion. Can’t wait to see what Black Crown does next.

The darling of this year’s Eisners, Monstress, wrapped its third arc with a thundering crescendo and the most action in any single issue since the book’s debut. Perhaps most importantly, Monstress #18 also laid great track for future stories. Very well done.

Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen concluded their sci-book Descender, a beautiful watercolor epic about childhood friendship. This issue was great (like the entire series), but it was less a finale than a continuation, setting up a sequel called Ascender that launches this fall.

Al Ewing and Joe Bennett continue to make The Hulk terrifying.

In Immortal Hulk #2 and #3, Al Ewing and Joe Bennett continued to strike a horrifying tone, telling a story closer to prestige horror than standard superheroics, leading to half of comics Twitter saying I don’t usually like the Hulk but I like THIS.   

There’s a reason Incognegro by Mat Johnson and Warren Pleece is taught in schools: it’s a well-done historical mystery steeped in questions about race. Its sequel wrapped this month with Incognegro Renaissance #5, a worthy successor.

Sideways #6 gives its teen hero a defining tragedy, and ho man did it sting. Speaking of The New Age of DC Heroes, The Unexpected #2 and Terrifics #5 were both great too.

Apparently Warren Ellis and Jon Davis-Hunt’s phenomenal new take on old characters, The Wild Storm, is selling well (at least online), but not enough fans are talking about it. I wish that would change. It’s so good.

Finally, Flash #50 was an emotionally-satisfying conclusion to a long-simmering plot thread, one that also featured that page with the return of that character at the end.

Top 5 Comics of July 2018

Cates & Stegman seem bent on a character-defining run.

5. Venom #4 by Donny Cates & Ryan Stegman

I don’t want to go into the plot, except to note there’s an expert connection to Jason Aaron’s all-time great run on Thor, and that superhero comic fans love that type of thing. There’s also just a feeling of excitement around everything Cates is writing; he’s like an athlete having his first MVP season, entrenching himself as a lead voice at Marvel, even extending his exclusive with the publisher.

Which is all great, as is Venom #4. It’s still relatively early in this run, but Cates and Stegman have talked about doing a prolonged and character-defining stretch on this book. Also, like Immortal Hulk, this is another book that seems to have many fans reading a character they otherwise wouldn’t. No easy feat.

 

 

4. Wasted Space #3 by Michael Moreci & Hayden Sherman

Wasted Space, the frenetic space opera about addiction and cultism and 100 other things, just keeps getting better. People who write about comics often use that line, but in this case it’s true. Wasted Space is a complex comic with so many big ideas that the experience of reading it improves as more of its scope becomes visible. That’s been my experience, anyway.

I loved Wasted Space #3 (read my review of Wasted Space #3). The ideas and plotting that made the series so engrossing is still here, but this issue also (organically) ups the humor, especially when the big all-powerful gigantic enemy guy tells some rando he’d feel better about himself if he approached work with pride—hilarious. I don’t know if I can be clearer: you should all be reading this book.

Bold design choices elevate Gideon Falls to lofty creative levels.

3. Gideon Falls #5 by Jeff Lemire & Andrea Sorrentino

Holy wow, the art in this comic is insane. I know that’s vague and non-descriptive, but if you’ve read it, you’re absolutely nodding along. The truth is it’s hard to to describe these visuals without using dude, did you see that language. The art is imaginative to the point one wonders exactly when Andrea Sorrentino disregarded conventions and straight up started doing whatever he wanted.

There are bold choices, to be sure, every one of which pays off, including red circles around details for emphasis, and arrows telling readers where to look. It could come off as proscriptive, but given how engrossing this story is, it instead feels helpful. I’ve liked this comic from the start (see my long-ago review of Gideon Falls #1), but Gideon Falls #5 somehow reaches new levels of creativity, storytelling, and absolutely bananas visual stimulation on every page. Absolutely bananas.

2. Wonder Woman #51 by Steve Orlando & Laura Braga

With Wonder Woman #51, Steve Orlando and Laura Braga tell a stand-alone story with a deep and nuanced understanding of this character, one that shows exactly why she’s been relevant all these years. It’s the type of small-scale story that plays to a hero’s essence, the type done ad nauseum with Batman and Superman but not nearly as much with Wonder Woman. This comic, however, helps to fix that.

It’s just so perfect. Aside from the adept characterization, it features an engaging and emotional narrative that speaks to Diana’s core values. It sounds cliche, but I teared up here at the drama and and smiled at the jokes. This is, to me, an issue we’ll be hearing new creators talk about on podcasts 10 years from now, citing it as an influence for the way they write/think about the character.

Read our review of Wonder Woman #51.

Just, ouch.

1. Saga #54 by Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples

Nothing will ever be the same. If you’ve read the issue, check out Why Saga #54 Hurts So Bad. If you haven’t, please read the issue and then click that link. There’s just no good way to discuss this without spoilers. Simply put, though, we’ll just note that this is the most consequential issue yet in the best series in comics.

That does it for our July list. Please check back to the site tomorrow for our new feature, Five Questions With Creators, which is being kicked off with writer Zack Kaplan, of Eclipse, Port of Earth, and Lost City Explorers!

Check out our Best New #1 Comics of July 2018 here plus more of our monthly lists here .

Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, CA.

REVIEW: Wonder Woman #52 by Steve Orlando, Aco, David Lorenzo, Romulo Fajardo Jr., & Saida Temofonte

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Steve Orlando and Aco get the band back together from their character-defining run on Midnighter.

By Zack Quaintance — Two weeks ago, writer Steve Orlando and artist Laura Braga put out Wonder Woman #51, a stand-alone story about the depths of Diana Prince’s compassionate stubbornness to not give up on even her most dangerous enemies. That issue was—to me—the best standalone Wonder Woman story in years, a perfect comic that had me tearing up at the depths of our hero’s desire to help. As I wrote in my Wonder Woman #51 review, I loved it.

Wonder Woman #52 sees Orlando returning for a four-part adventure story with the character, this time joined by artist Aco, his collaborator on the 2015 Midnighter run that remains my favorite story about that character. In the intermittent time, both creators have progressed in their craft, and I'm happy to say that it very much shows.

There's just so much to like about this comic. It's confident, bold, and well-paced, but let’s look first at this issue’s plot. Whereas Wonder Woman #51 dove into the qualities and values that make Diana arguably DC’s most admirable hero, Wonder Woman #52 is a fast-paced adventure that makes fantastic use of the actual mythology inherent to the character. What results is, put simply, another great comic.

This is a tight story that expertly plays to Wonder Woman’s status as a figure within mythology to drive its narrative. Diana obviously knows this sector of the DCU well, and the book does a great job conveying this early, so that when something threatening or out of the ordinary comes later on, her reaction is telling and meaningful (and also badass).

The other thing this issue does especially well is incorporate additional characters, specifically Artemis and the new Aztek (fresh from Orlando’s run on Justice League of America, btw). Although Wonder Woman is undeniably the star, these other characters have separate priorities and desires that pull them into danger alongside her. Each having their own agency goes a long way toward engaging the reader in the holistic success of our erstwhile team, which ups the stakes.

In the end, Wonder Woman #52 is a real page-turner, a great start to a different type of Diana Prince Story. It's a confident and entertaining read that seems to set up some massive twists and fireworks to come. For a first issue from a new team, it's also remarkably polished, likely because Orlando and Aco had such a productive relationship in the past. The ultimate success of this arc, of course, remains to be seen, but Orlando once again displays a deep understanding of Diana. As such, it seems safe to assume this entire arc will be as rewarding as the standalone story that preceded it.

Overall: Whereas Wonder Woman #51 examined Diana Prince’s deep and stubborn capacity for compassion, Wonder Woman #52 utilizes her role as a living piece of mythology to launch a multi-part adventure. Orlando and Aco have clearly worked together in the past, and the result is a polished and fully-formed start. Fans of great superhero comics, take note. 9.5/10

For more comic book and movie reviews, check out our review archives here.

Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.

REVIEW: Black Badge #1 by Matt Kindt, Tyler Jenkins, Hilary Jenkins, & Jim Campbell

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Black Badge #1 is a polished and confident debut from the same team behind Grass Kings.

By Zack Quaintance — Black Badge #1 is writer Matt Kindt and artist Tyler Jenkins follow up to Grass Kings, and, at first glance, it seems to be a gentler story, one about a group of scouts on a special trip to faraway South Korea. Like its predecessor (and like most comics, really), however, there is also a darker complexity at work here.

There are a few layers to this book. There’s the premise: our heroes are part of an elite troop of boy scouts that the U.S. government sends on covert missions, kind of like green berets with a deceptive and innocent veneer. There’s the thematic interests: merit badges here seem to be standing in for ornamental and ultimately meaningless life achievements, things we convince ourselves we must obtain because we’re told that’s what we should want. And there’s an examination of what it means to be the good scout, or in this case, soldier.

Black Badges #1 is very much a straightforward and well-done introduction to this story. It’s an engaging read, a polished #1 comic that never stumbles by over-explaining who are heroes are, which does the double work here of leaving room for the creators to later build in secrets. We get a four panel grid in which a bully underestimates each of them, saying things like, You brought everything you need? Your tedd bear in there? And, Willy. Dude. you need to lay off the scout snacks. Typical bully snark that shows us how our elite team will be both perceived and underestimated.

This excellent four-panel grid does a great job telling us about our protagonists without feeling like an info dump.

This first issue is well-told, an effective and entertaining means of learning who are heroes are, what they do, and, in part, why they do it. It works well as a hook, although the exact direction of the plot is still fuzzy. There definitely seems to be an exploration of morality in the offing, one that might use the age of the characters to explore idealism as well as the way children are often treated as invisible non-actors (our team’s secret weapon). Previews of future issues also hint at the book taking a look at foreign policy, and they've definitely set up a great lens to do just that. I certainly trust Kindt and Jenkins too, especially after the success they had with Grass Kings, which had a less engaging premise, at least on its surface.

Overall: Black Badge #1 seems to be the start of another great series by Matt Kindt and Tyler Jenkins. This first issue has all the exposition we need plus some intriguing hints into its thematic interests, yet it never feels like an info dump. This is a confident and polished debut issue, one that hints at big things in store. 8.0/10

For more comic book reviews, check out our review archives.

Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.

REVIEW: Relay #2 by Zac Thompson, Andy Clarke, Jose Villarrubia, & Charles Pritchett

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The Relay features a story conceived by Zac Thompson, Eric Broomberg, & Donny Cates.

By Zack Quaintance — The Relay, as those who read the first issue are aware, is an epic science fiction story about messiah figures, the evolution of ideals, the safety of conforming, and colonization. In issue one, we glimpsed daily life on Earth—complete with dissident unrest. In issue two, the focus shifts to how denizens of powerful Earth interact with colonial worlds. The Relay #2, however, is far more than just a statement about imperialism, which has been done often in modern sci-fi.

No, in this issue the book places a welcome and heavy emphasis on ideological debate. It’s nearly impossible to go into specifics without tipping the twists—of which there are nearly half a dozen—but I’ll try my best now to discuss what this story is about and why I found it so engaging.

Essentially, The Relay #2 examines what happens when a dissident’s original teachings evolve into dominant rule, inherently turning them against the values of the dissident who created them. If it sounds familiar, that’s because it’s likely intended to be. There’s a Jesus allegory at work here. Historically, Christianity in its earliest throes was subversive, a loving approach to life under Roman oppression. Christianity ultimately won, of course, and so the society we live in now is shaped by its rule. Basically, the same teachings that were once subversive have assumed power, gaining the ability to do the oppressing or to grant rationale for colonization (it’s all a good deal more complex, but that’s my own abbreviate, comic book review take).

In The Relay #2, this allegory is clearly tipped when one character is surprised to meet another, blurting Jesus, you’re really him, to which the subject character responds, I’ve been called many things, but never Jesus...as Christ-like a line as one could conceive of. It’s all very complex, and this is a text-heavy issue, to be sure, but the team has done such great foundational work establishing mystery and stakes (what’s more important than the fragility of a protagonist with a beloved and deeply-held world view?) that simple conversations in this issue are as tense and compelling as any laser battle or lightsaber duel could ever be.

In my The Relay #1 review, I drew comparisons between that comic and the writing of Ursula K. Le Guin or Philip K. Dick. This second issue re-enforces that comparison, especially to Le Guin, whose own anthropological sci-fi is such a clear influence. Le Guin is my favorite science fiction writer, as well as one of my favorite writers period, which is perhaps why I’m loving this comic so much. Simply put, for fans of hard sci-fi or complex societal explorations in comics, this series is not to be missed.

Overall: The Relay #2 continues establishing this series as one of the smartest comics today, diving deeper into the anthropological concerns of the debut. Heady and dense, the stakes here involve our perception of reality itself. Is there anything more consequential? This book makes readers work hard, to be sure, but the intellectual payoff is well-worth the effort. 9.5/10

For more comic book reviews, check out our review archives.

Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.

Best New #1 Comics of July 2018

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The new comics fireworks started July 4th and just kept coming. Groan, I know. But anyway, the most impressive thing about this month’s new #1 was the wide variety of stories they told. So many boxes got checked by these books: New Orleans plus horror and drugs? CHECK. Encouraging new direction for Amazing Spider-Man? CHECK. Ethereal exploration of death that reads like literary magical realism in graphic format? Somehow also CHECK.

July’s variety of #1 comics speaks to a major change in the industry: a broader and expanding audience is fostering broader and expanding demand. You know what that means? That’s right—broader and expanding supply. Or, more and weirder comics. With this in mind, it’s easy to be bullish on comics right now, and the entries on our list today re-enforce why.

Let’s do it!

Quick Hits

The Long Con #1 came out the Wednesday after SDCC, telling a story about a never-ending apocalyptic con. Its timing was perfect and its concept sharp. Read our full review.

Cliche alert! Catwoman #1 was a (fancy?) feast for the eyes. The story and art—both by Joelle Jones—were phenomenal. Most importantly, though, Jones gets Selina...the aesthetic, narration, villain...nigh-perfect.

I saw Donny Cates at SDCC on a panel about Image Comics. Someone was late...so Cates, obviously, put Pantera on his phone and growled into his mic, WELCOME TO IMAGE. This is also the aesthetic of his latest Marvel #1s: Cosmic Ghost Rider and Death of Inhumans, which are both madcap and grandiose.

Mariko Tamaki and Juan Cabal had to follow Tom Taylor’s excellent 3-year run on All New Wolverine. Tough challenge. In X-23 #1, however, the team meets it, preserving the best of Taylor’s work (the heart) while also heading in a horror-tinged new direction.

Everyone said read Bone Parish #1 by Cullen Bunn Jonas Sharf. They said it was excellent, frightening in a way I wouldn’t expect. Everyone was right. Bunn’s latest horror book (of an estimated 19) is frightening in a way you won’t expect, either. Now I’m the one urging you to read it.

Speaking of horror, check out Clankillers #1, a gritty story about gaelic mythology. Read our full review.

Ever think to yourself: I’d love to read Miami Vice meets Fast Times at Ridgemont High? Of course not, few probably have, but someone is writing it as a comic and it’s a winner. The Mall by Don Handfield, James Haick, and Rafael Loureiro is a solid debut, rich with ‘80s camp. Recommended.

James Tynion IV and Alvaro Martinez nailed Justice League Dark #1. In a summer of strong new directions for DC, this is one of the strongest, with stellar art and gleeful depictions of the publishers oft-underused bench.

Vault Comics (one of our favorites) has had a great year, and Submerged #1 is the latest book to become a part of it. Vita Ayala and Lisa Sterle craft a story with intriguing family dynamics, a natural disaster, and a potpourri of mythos. 

It’s tough to evaluate Brian Michael Bendis’ debuts via Superman #1 and Action Comics #1001. Bendis is a prolific and veteran writer, a student of superhero history who thinks in eras, not in single issues. So far, he’s established tones and started unveiling his the vanguard of his plans. The full scope of his aspirations, however, largely remain to be seen.

Top Five Best #1 Comics of July 2018

Unnatural #1 by Mirka Andolfo

This book lives in an intriguing world of dystopian reproductive laws, one that has enabled Italian comic auteur Mirka Andolfo to craft a story that is at once poignant, tantalizing, and horrific. This issue is the first of 12 parts, and I knew about halfway through reading it that I was onboard for the long haul.

To quote our Unnatural #1 Review: Andolfo clearly has strong thoughts about the intersection of sex and government, but she is also well-aware that those thoughts are best served by first and foremost telling an entertaining story. As a result, Unnatural #1 is not to be missed. And we very much stand by that.

Captain America #1 by Ta-Nehisi Coates & Leinil Francis Yu

Early indications are strong for Ta-Nehisi Coates & Leinil Yu on Cap.

This debut fittingly dropped on July 4, and it’s the best single-issue Captain America story I’ve read since Ed Brubaker’s all-time great run ended. Ta-Nehisi Coates is a writer I first became aware of via his articles in The Atlantic, before then reading his non-fiction works, specifically Between the World and Me. When he came to comics in the spring of 2016 to write Black Panther, I enthusiastically added the comic to my pulllist.

And Black Panther has been decent enough, a little wordy and dull in parts as Coates struggled to reconcile the new medium with his writerly instincts. With Captain America #1, any and all growing pains are clearly behind him. Coates and collaborator Leinil Francis Yu have made a declarative statement with this book...this is going to be a dark and action-heavy take on Cap, one that will test Steve Rogers with problems that grow out of his past continuity as well as the modern state of the U.S. It won’t be heavy handed, no, on the contrary the book seems bent on making its thematic intent slow-burning and subtle. Come along if you dare. Read our full review.

Amazing Spider-Man #1 by Nick Spencer & Ryan Ottley

I think it was in one of those retailer columns on Bleeding Cool that I read about someone saying a back-to-basics well-done Amazing Spider-Man book could be the industry’s top seller. Well, we’re about to find out if that’s true. Nick Spencer and Ryan Ottley’s debut on Marvel’s flagship title is almost indisputably those two things: well-done and back-to-basics.

We here at Batman’s Bookcase, however, have now written two full pieces about why we like it, so rather than trying to find a facet of the comic we haven’t explored, we’ll just wrap up quickly here by pointing you toward our Amazing Spider-Man #1 Review and our 5-Panel Amazing Spider-Man Explainer.

This is easily one of our favorite covers in recent memory.

Euthanauts #1 by Tini Howard & Nick Robles

Remember way back at the start of this piece when I mentioned an ethereal exploration of death that reads like literary magical realism in graphic format? Well, here we are. The Euthanauts #1 is a unique comic, as self-assured as any debut issue in recent memory. It does understated and deliberate work familiarizing you with a relatable character, one who is maybe even a bit on the mundane side, before fitfully plunging you into a world where life and death intermingle.

Someone on Twitter asked me recently if this comic was good, and I told them yes, very good, but pretty abstract and best consumed in a way where it just sort of washes over you—read twice for good measure. That’s how I read it, and it has been haunting me ever since. I can’t wait to see what this creative team has in store for this story. Oh, and I should also note that as mesmerizing as Tini Howard’s ideas are, this without question seems to be one of those ideal books wherein her and artist Nick Robles lift each other, both seemingly poised to do career best work. Read our full review.

Relay #1 by Zac Thompson, Eric Bromberg, Donny Cates, & Andy Clarke

While reading Relay #1, I got a feeling I’ve maybe only previously had while emerging from a classic sci-fi novel. Basically, this comic reads like layered and complex sci-fi being doled out by an engaging plot line, one with evident shades of the masters of its genre, namely Philip K. Dick and Ursula K. Le Guin.

I really dug Relay #1, to the point when someone recently asked me what books I was reading (always a difficult question to answer on the spot), I stumbled around for a moment before just blurting out: Relay. For more on why I enjoyed the first issue of this book so much...that’s right...read our full review here.

Thanks as always for reading, and make sure to come back this week for our Best Comics of July 2018, period.

Check out more of our monthly lists here.

Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.

ADVANCED REVIEW: Fearscape #1 by Ryan O’Sullivan, Andrea Mutti, & Vladimir Popov

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Fearscape #1 is out Sept. 26, 2018.

By Zack Quaintance — Fearscape #1 is the latest new series from fast-rising indie publisher Vault Comics, with hints of a diverse range of stories about stories, from movies like Midnight in Paris to famous cartoon shorts like Looney Tunes: Duck Amuck (Google it, you’re likely familiar…). This comic is smart and unique, and it pushes the limits of the sequential graphic storytelling medium, deploying a strong literary voice along with a concept that ranks among the best of today’s creator-owned comic wave.

It’s one part Saga, Monstress, or Wic + Div, and it’s one part that killer short story you read in The New Yorker, maybe by Zadie Smith, T.C. Boyle, or Lauren Groff. It’s an amalgam of your favorite graphic novels and that conversation you had last week with that annoying guy in tweed at your friend’s dinner party, the one who kept referencing his MFA.

Phew. That’s an onslaught of gimmicky descriptors, but this book grows from, speaks to, and stands upon mankind’s storytelling traditions. As such, references are perhaps the best means of giving readers an idea of what they’re in for when they open this comic. Now then, let’s get granular and go into Fearscapes’ plot, strengths, and best lines, shall we?

Plot: An otherworldly being called The Muse comes to take humanity’s greatest storyteller to The Fearscape, a realm of dark magic where human fears exist as living creatures. That storyteller is tasked with overcoming the greatest of all fears, thereby freeing humanity from them. The Muse comes for a venerable fantasy writer and instead finds Henry Henry (perfect failed author name, btw), a fraud who is busy stealing a manuscript from the home of the aforementioned famous writer, who is Henry’s friend/benefactor and is also sick and dying. It’s a lot, but Andrea Mutti’s artwork is clear and imaginative, and it orients the reader, while writer Ryan O’Sullivan makes excellent use of authoritive narration, which brings us to Fearscape #1’s single greatest strength...

...its voice, which is just pretentious enough to remind us what type of guy Henry Henry is (seriously, perfect name) without making us totally hate him, although holy wow is it close. Voice does so much work in this story, conveying that our main dude is a personification of imposter syndrome, oozing insecurity with his pretentiousness cranked to 11. It remains to be seen if the creators can emotionally vest us in the guy, but for now the intrigue and imagination is so compelling it doesn’t matter.

So, let’s get into some of best lines, including: All authors are ultimately translators; endlessly rewording stories and ideas we’ve heard countless times before.

And this resentful take on genre writing: Twenty-seven novels. All of them fantasy. All of them set in the same trope-ridden dragon-infested world.

Finally, this shot at a particularly loathsome subclass of human: Yet, despite this, we shall still find ourselves opposed by the casual reader and, even worse, its mutated older sibling, the critic.

Overall: A nigh-perfect debut, a unique comic that pushes the boundaries of sequential graphic storytelling. Fearscape #1 is one part killer creator-owned comic, one part famous literary short story, and 100 percent not to be missed.  10/10

Fearscape #1 is available Sept. 26, 2018.

For more comic book reviews, check out our review archives.

Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.

ADVANCED REVIEW: Border Town #1 by Eric M. Esquivel, Ramon Villalobos, Tamra Bonvillain, & Deron Bennett

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Border Town #1 is available Sept. 5, 2018.

By Zack Quaintance — Border Town #1 is the first new comic launching as part of DC’s reinvigorated Vertigo imprint, the main idea of which seems to be let’s run headlong through polarizing and important societal issues with some of the most exciting creators in comics leading the way (Bryan Edward Hill, Mark Russell, and Mirka Andolfo, among others).  

The ultimate goal, of course, is engaging readers with stories equal parts entertaining and personal (that magic narrative combo), and Border Town #1 certainly does that. At its heart, it’s a coming-of-age drama about a new kid in school. That school, however, is located in fictional Devil’s Fork, Arizona on the U.S. border with Mexico. This setting is vital for a comic called Border Town, which examines how borders divide us, and not just borders between countries but also between perception, opinions, reality and mythos...even the two sides of multicultural households.

It’s poignant and relevant territory. Not to make this about me, but after college I spent five years as a reporter in a border town (McAllen, Texas); I’m also from Chicago. Through my disparate lenses, I saw that the U.S.-Mexico border is massively misunderstood, especially by those who’ve never visited, yet it’s a region many have strong opinions about. What writer Eric M. Esquivel—who grew up in Tucson—does so well is draw from personal experience to depict real border life, stuff like cliques at school, family dynamics, etc.

Come for the Degrassi-esque teen drama, stay for the terrifying depictions of Mexican/Chicano mythos and folklore.

This is just one of Border Town’s strengths. Another is, simply put, monsters. Border Town is a horror story that in the tradition of the genre blends teen drama with dark and scary violence. I can think of no better team to bring this to life than artist Ramon Villalobos and colorist Tamra Bonvillain. Their work is uniformly excellent (as it was in the tragically-cancelled Nighthawk), and the monster designs here are intricate and grotesque (perfect). Villalobos is also a great choice to draw teenagers, given his vocal appreciation of things like Degrassi and sneakers. The art is killer, but that's expected.

What caught me a bit off guard was how well Esquivel grasps the genre. I haven’t read his other work, but I could tell he has a deep knowledge of horror movies, comics, and TV. You can also tell Mexican/Chicano folklore is an interest. Essentially, Esquivel’s script expertly takes the usual horror conventions and creates something new by infusing fresh monster mythology many readers haven’t been terrified by...yet.

Overall: Border Town #1 is a strong start for a reinvigorated Vertigo imprint, a relatable coming-of-age teen drama in one of the least understood yet most argued about parts of the country. The art is terrifyingly detailed, and the story leans enthusiastically into time-tested horror tropes while also finding new ground by adding Mexican/Chicano folklore and mythos. 9.0/10

Border Town #1 is available Sept. 05, 2018.

For more comic book reviews, check out our review archives.

Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.

July 2018 New Comic Discoveries: So Much Horror

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By Zack Quaintance — Ice cream men, sunlight, sweethearts...there’s not usually anything scary about all of that innocuous and gleaming wholesomeness, but comics is comics, a skunkworks for ideas, and as such an enterprising group of creators has, indeed, made ice cream men, sunlight, and sweethearts scary. This is the central throughline of our three picks for July 2018 New Discoveries (the feature in which we finally catch up with comics we've been meaning to read). All of these stories take the precious, the quaint, the everyday pleasantness of being—and viciously mine them for hidden terrors, which, let's face it, seems appropriate for our recent times.

This is, after all, the odd and acrimonious year of 2018, wherein the news is a horror show and any attempt to understand the direction of the country by engaging with your neighbors is liable to end in a berserker bout of verbal combat. Maybe that’s why I found these three books so engaging...they contained ideas that seemed innocent, but, upon closer examination, were rife with seething dysfunction. If these comics are any indication, such explorations can yield fantastic stories (see also David Lynch, specifically Twin Peaks).

With all that in mind, let’s look now at our July 2018 New Comic Discoveries!

July 2018 New Comic Discoveries

Eclipse Vols. 1 & 2 by Zack Kaplan and Giovanni Timpano

In Eclipse, the sun has become an indiscriminate killer. A mysterious solar incident has occurred, turning sunlight lethal and forcing humans to spend the daytime underground. Old power structures have crumbled; new ones have risen in place. A mysterious group of albinos—immune to the light—have now appeared. They are murderous, engineered by corrupt societal leaders who are now targets of their revenge. Those are the high-minded things I like about the book. On a base this is really freaking cool level, I also dig the creative ways bad guys weaponize the sun, like using mirrors, poking holes in walls, etc. It’s scary and exciting stuff.

This book had been on my radar for some time, especially after writer Zack Kaplan’s other comics—Port of Earth and Lost City Explorers—were met with such enthusiastic reviews by many writers I admire and respect. This book’s concept essentially succeeds by turning the nurturing presence of sunlight into a lethal menace that exacerbates societal ills, ills that were easily ignored during less trying times, ills such as power disparities, corruption, and sacrificing the lives of those deemed inconsequential in service of the higher classes. This concept, of course, needs a grounded character-driven story, too, and Kaplan and artist Giovanni Timpano have definitely crafted one, one that is improving as their run continues. If only there were a fitting adjective to describe the exciting outlook for this book, to say the future of this story is...something. Oh well.

Check out our review of Eclipse #9!

Ice Cream Man Vol. 1 by W. Maxwell Prince & Martin Morazzo

There are so many good horror comics coming out right now (have you all read Gideon Falls? so good!), but, even amid the onslaught, Ice Cream Man by W. Maxwell Prince and Martin Morazzo stands out as exceedingly sinister, like if Alfred Hitchcock, Rod Serling, Stephen King and sometimes also David Cronenburg had a kid who grew up resenting the dysfunction of the suburbs and was now letting the pent-up angsty darkness flow. This is an anthology (I wish there were more of those...especially on TV, but I digress…), unified by the titular Ice Cream Man, who is, of course, always way way worse than he first seems.

Ice Cream Man Vol. 1 is excellent, and it’s a credit to this comic that through four issues nothing here becomes predictable. Not its structure, its characters, its themes. It’s sort of like The Twilight Zone in that all you know at the start of each installment is things fall apart. This, I think, speaks to our throughline of looking closer for dysfunction in 2018. I hadn’t realized this before, but the Twilight Zone was created after decades of American’s questioning each other, looking for commies or fascists or Soviet spies, etc. With a similar climate now, stories where horror lurks beneath a shining veneer are poignant as ever. Whether Ice Cream Man was conceived with this in mind isn’t relevant—the fear of what's being hidden is both real and compelling.

Sweet Heart #1 by Dillon Gilberton, Francesco Iaquinta, Maco Pagnotta & Saida Temofonte

For the third choice of our New Discoveries list each month, we spotlight a less-known book or a Kickstarter project, and this month it just so happens to be Sweet Heart by writer Dillon Gilbertson, artist Francesco Iaquina, colorist Maco Pagnotta, and letterer Saida Temofonte (the Kickstarter for Sweet Heart #2 runs through Aug. 10, btw). Gilbertson shared the first issue with us, and, man, is it a great fit for this list, turning childhood—and the traumas that occur—into a horror story with a fantastic mystery at its center. Simply put, Sweet Heart is a great comic that deserves to scare and disquiet a larger audience.

Gilbertson’s use of an omniscient narrator is understated when it needs to be and creepy as all get out when a more threatening tone is appropriate. Iaquina’s art is a great fit too, with his monster designs standing out as especially impressive, and Pagnotta’s colors add quite a bit. There’s also an impressive confidence in this book that isn't always present in crowd-funded comic efforts, a sense that the team has an urgent story to tell. The book’s greatest strength, however, is its poignant central metaphor, which I suspect is about childhood illness (or maybe hereditary addiction?) but, really, has a universality to it. Basically, whatever dysfunction was in your house (we all had some), I’m guessing you’ll see it play out here. I recommend supporting this one, for sure.

See all our past months of new discoveries here. And check back to the site next week for our Best Debut Comics of July 2018 as well as our Top Comics of July 2018, too.

Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.

REVIEW: Adventures of The Super Sons #1 by Peter J. Tomasi, Carlo Barberi, Art Thibert, & Rob Leigh

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By Zack Quaintance — You tell yourself that you’ve transcended simple comics fandom (also known as fanboyhood). You tell yourself things like I don’t prefer Marvel or DC, or my allegiance is to creators not characters, or whether something is relevant to continuity doesn’t matter so long as a story is strong. You tell yourself these things, sure, but then a book like Adventures of The Super Sons #1 comes along and calls you on your bullsh*t (sorry).

While the jury is out on most of that, superhero comics being relevant to continuity is (apparently) important to me. I loved The Super Sons first run, which tied in nicely to writer Peter J. Tomasi’s main Superman title. It spanned 16 madcap issues, and it had an adorable Batman/Superman-as-kids dynamic that yielded funny moments like I couldn’t believe. This new book, however, has essentially been set back and away from current continuity, and as a result the whole thing feels a tiny bit off, no matter how hard I fought to ignore it.

This is perhaps most evident in odd fixes made to separate this story from Brian Michael Bendis fledgling run on the main Superman comics: a caption reading in the not-too-distant past, a vague missive about how the boys’ parents have gone away for several weeks, etc. I know these things shouldn’t matter, and perhaps for most readers they won’t.

And to be fair, everything I liked about Super Sons has carried over. The banter is still really funny—Hey look, it’s Superboy and that kid I think used to work for Batman!—the dynamic between Jon and Damian remains strong—I think you’re secretly the greatest villain on Earth—and while Carlo Barberi’s art is a step down from Jorge Jimenez (anyone would be) his style is definitely fits here.

As a result, I think this book will land for many readers, especially those who didn’t grow up obsessing over what counted most within superhero continuity. I know it’s silly of me, but I’ve been trained in an odd form of literacy during my years of fandom, taught by things like Pizza Hut promotional comics to look for little differences used to drain stories of relevance. If I were buying a comic to read with my kids, I’d still have this one at the top of my list. I just had a nonsensical (and cracking) voice in my brain from adolescence, reminding me that this was just a tad bit inconsequential, taking me out of the story even though I knew I was being ridiculous.

Overall: This is still a fun comic with the same wonderful jokes and dynamic from the series’ previous iteration, and it’s a great book for young readers, to be sure. Veteran superhero fans, however, may notice small changes publishers use to make stories less relevant, potentially taking them out of the story. 7.0/10

For more comic book and movie reviews, check out our review archives here.

Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.

REVIEW: Green Arrow #43 by Julie & Shawna Benson, Javier Fernandez, John Kalisz, & Deron Bennett

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As a long-time Green Arrow fan, I am absolutely freaking out about Alex Maleev doing covers for this book.

By Zack Quaintance — Green Arrow #43 starts a new chapter for Oliver Queen and company (heh), one written by sisters Julie and Shawna Benson and illustrated by Javier Fernandez. That new team follows an all-time great Green Arrow run by Benjamin Percy with artists Juan Ferreyra and Otto Schmidt. This is actually the second issue of Green Arrow for the Bensons, who teamed with artist Carmen Nunez Carnero on Green Arrow Annual #2 (a No Justice tie-in) in May.

Phew. Now that introductions are finished, let’s get to it...so, like, is this comic still good?

In a word, yes. Green Arrow #43 is a good comic and a great tone-setter for a new run, one that makes a few things clear: Black Canary is going nowhere (and moving in!!), Roy Arsenal Harper is a big part of Ollie’s life, and DC Comics is committed to Green Arrow as perhaps the central lynchpin of its shared universe, a status first seeded in No Justice. In other shared continuity news, Roy also mentions Sanctuary (of Tom King’s upcoming Heroes in Crisis book), which Ollie is presently unaware of, although one expects that to change...

Anyway, those are all big picture story strokes. Green Arrow at its best, however, is a book that lives in smaller moments, in pretty bird pet names and the dichotomy of a family-monied corporate exec dual-lifeing it as a bleeding heart crusader. Thankfully, issue #43 takes aim at the endearing minutiae and nails its target dead-on (arrow joke, get it?…sorry). From panel to panel, this book brims with small but telling characterization: Ollie donning ear guards before going down to see Canary, the banter between Roy-Ollie-Dinah over chilli, Ollie’s posture and demeanor and cool-boss-guy garb at his office—it’s all just so quintessentially Oliver Queen.

Nailing the characterization was something Percy did incredibly well (he brought back the goatee!), and as such this transition to a new team is as smooth as an expertly-nocked arrow slicing through the air toward a bullseye (sorry again!). Fernandez’s clean linework and frenetic action sequences are also a treat, and the Alex Maleev covers bring a fantastic savagery to these proceedings before we even hit page one. The emerald archer, in other words, seems to be in good hands.

Oh! A closing thought...what if the box Martian Manhunter gave Ollie that can destroy the Justice League (the one Ollie gives Roy directions to as an insurance policy...should something happen to me) factors into Heroes in Crisis? That box is the Chekhov’s gun of the DC Universe right now...it’s obviously going off by act three.  

Overall: The Bensons and Javier Fernandez pull-off the difficult double task of redirecting Green Arrow’s larger plot while keeping the book’s characters grounded in the telling moments that marked Ben Percy’s run. This is a great jumping on point for new/returning readers plus a smooth transition for those who never left. 9.0/10

For more comic book and movie reviews, check out our review archives here.

Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.

REVIEW: The Unexpected #3 by Steve Orlando, Cary Nord, Mark Farmer, Scott Hanna, Jeromy Cox, & Carlos M. Mangual

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In its third issue, some of the cost of the deaths in The Unexpected's earlier issues becomes clear.

By Zack Quaintance — If you read The Unexpected #1, you know the book feigned as if it were a story of a new hero (Firebrand) joining some kind of oddball super-crew (Neon and team). But then—spoilers—the book swerved, killing two of Firebrand’s would-be teammates plus also its presumed big bad. In The Unexpected #3, the price for some of that death has now come due.

With its first two issues, The Unexpected established itself as a rock-solid new concept in the DCU, one driven by a pair of compelling leads and their nascent dynamic. Introductions, however, have now ended and it’s time for the plot to push forward as its mysteries and ramifications rapidly expand.

Consequences is a major theme in The Unexpected, and not just consequences for characters but consequences for the world following the recent event story, Dark Nights Metal. Scott Snyder and team’s Justice League is currently exploring all that on a marco/galactic level, specifically the broken source wall. This book, meanwhile, is taking a more nuanced approach, extrapolating upon some of the other effects of Nth Metal (and the mystery of the Nth Metal Isotope at the heart of it all...sorry) as well as the existence of the Dark Multiverse. I don’t want to give anything away, but this issue also fully unveils The Unexpected’s actual big bad (who has appeared briefly in past issues and also in Metal...but I’ll say no more).

At the same time, Orlando, Nord, and team are building new ideas into the DCU with this book. In this issue it is revealed that orcks once ruled the Earth and lived in floating cities powered by Nth Metal (known to them as Uk Metal). This is used to flesh out one of the deceased character's importance, as well as to illustrate the cost of his death, but now that it’s been put on the DC board, it’ll obviously always be there moving forward. Building onto mythos is something Orlando seems bent on doing in all his work, and, in fact, a creation from his Justice League of America—Monster Valley—shows up again here.

Simply put, this is all a very cool approach to superhero storytelling, one that for detail-oriented readers (myself included) is quite rewarding. That aside, this book is also telling an action-heavy story that any reader could just pick up and enjoy (I’d reckon). Living in both of those worlds is most certainly to The Unexpected’s credit. This is easily one of the least predictable and awesomely surprising books at DC Comics right now, and I, for one, can't wait to see where it's all headed.

Overall: The Unexpected continues to be heavy on both action and detail, creating a book with as much to offer casual readers as it does obsessive superhero fans. The Unexpected #3 delves even deeper into Dark Night Metal’s fallout, a nice reward for DC devotees. 9.0/10

For more comic book and movie reviews, check out our review archives here.

Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.

REVIEW: Leviathan #1 by John Layman, Nick Pitarra, & Michael Garland

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Artist Nick Pitarra definitely draws one of the better Kaiju in recent memory.

By Zack Quaintance — Leviathan #1 is one of those ultra-polished books you can tell is the work of a veteran creative team, one that’s having a damn good time, too. This comic was written by John Layman (perhaps best known for Chew) and drawn by Nick Pitarra, a frequent collaborator of high-concept sci-fi writer Jonathan Hickman. This book is the first of a five-part series, and I’d describe its first issue as a well-executed madcap romp (albeit one that doesn’t come without a toll).

What’s most impressive about Leviathan #1 is how efficiently Layman, Pitarra, and colorist Michael Garland handle the storytelling basics. The book orients us with a confident, almost-stern narration, introducing us to our hero. They quickly make him relatable by showing us he’s a good host who threw a party in which some unsavory guests drank too much beer (we’ve all been there), and they let us know what he cares about most—his would-be fiance Vee. Then they put her in grave danger (a bit of a damsel in distress thing, but, not to worry, without spoiling anything I’ll just say she has some agency). This leaves us as an audience oriented, vested, and incredibly curious as to how our hero will respond.

Now, this is so far a pretty straightforward concept for a comic book, and so it’s also to the credit of its creators that story beats are made so entertaining. Layman’s voice here is smart and self-aware, funny in a meta way that also does work for the story. Our characters know what kaijus are (as any pop culture aficionado would), so much so that the creative team doesn’t need to explain where the titular Leviathan came from or why (not at the start, anyway). They can just write a few funny quips about how it found its way into a cooling tube of a nuclear power plant, or some sh*t, and we’re right back to the action.

Pitarra’s artwork and Garland’s colors are also quite impressive. There is an impressive level of detail lent to the backgrounds, cityscapes, and the monster, and he tweaks his style to be a bit cartoonish with the human form, one that sets an inherently looser tone that lets readers know crazy things can and will happens. Basically, the artwork in this book is rich to look at and also guided by some great choices.

This first issue (of five) seems to hint that there’s more to it than just being a monster story, and so we’ll have to wait until next month for a better idea of the scope.

Overall: In the end notes, the creative makes readers a promise...we guarantee every issue we’re gonna grab you by the throat and throttle you with insane nonstop action until your brains dribble out your ears. ...I’m not really up for all of that (ewwww), but I definitely liked this comic enough to come back for more. 8.5/10

For more comic book and movie reviews, check out our review archives here.

Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.

REVIEW: Eclipse #9 by Zack Kaplan, Giovanni Timpano, & Flavio Dispenza

By Zack Quaintance — After its first arc, Eclipse grew from a murder mystery that largely concerned two main characters into a full-blown examination of the motives of those who seek power, all set amid a complex conspiracy. This decision served the book well. Coming into the start of the third arc with Eclipse #9, I didn’t expect the same expansion. It seemed like the book had hit a cruising altitude, so to speak, at the end of the second arc and it would be just fine exploring ideas from there.

Eclipse #9, however, seems to indicate that this is a comic hellbent on upping the complexity of its story yet again, expanding it both in terms of its scope and its aspirations. Basically, Eclipse started out as a creepy horror story with an interesting sci-fi backdrop, but it has now become a deeper look at power dynamics, one that also has an interesting plot set in a world disrupted by disaster (a mysterious solar event has turned sunlight lethal, forcing society to spend its days underground).

The book hasn’t thrown out the killer and tense action sequences that made its earliest issues such satisfying reads either, which is a very good thing. No, basically it has now split into a dual plot, one about what’s happening inside New York City (where the most surviving humans seem to be located) and another that’s set in the world at large—both of which are liable to have interesting action scenes (in an especially cool bit in this issue, a character shot holes in a wall with a nail gun, thereby allowing the lethal sun in). The idea to split the comic into two settings like this is a really strong one that shows just how quickly writer Zack Kaplan is growing as a creator (this is his very first book, after all).

And the rest of the team is doing strong work, too. Giovanni Timpano’s art has been detailed and intricate from the beginning, expertly capturing the crumbling that has occurred above ground and the squalor beneath, while colorist Flavio Dispenza expertly uses hues that Clearly separate the shade from the light (which in this book literally separates life from death). It seems like this may end up being the third and final arc, and if that’s the case, fine, but I hope Kaplan and Timpano team together again soon because they’re partnership continues to get stronger with each issue.

Overall: Eclipse is a series that just keeps getting better, and issue #9 is no exception. The tense action and looming sense of danger from the start is still very much here, but the book has also really grown into a unique and complex look at power structures. 8.5/10

For more comic book and movie reviews, check out our review archives here.

Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.

REVIEW: The Seeds #1 by Ann Nocenti & David Aja

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The Seeds debuts Aug. 1.

By Zack Quaintance — I’ve hoped for a while that a book would examine some of the themes in The Seeds #1. I’ve wanted a story (one with a smarter concept than I could casually drum up) that takes a hard and knowledgeable look at our current media landscape, how it got this way, where it’s going, and what stands to happen to society as a result. That’s quite a big ask, I know, but, hey, I can hope.

With The Seeds #1, it seems my hopes have been at least partially satisfied. This comic is definitely concerned with media (also sexual dynamics and the environment), and in its first issue (of four) media is an interesting and prominent theme, especially throughout a pair of nine-panel grids wherein our protagonist Astra talks indirectly about the state of the media with her editor Gabrielle.

Gabrielle discusses how rumors and falsehoods that get repeated become true, how sometimes it’s what people want, how truth seeming pliant is a fine justification for inventing stories, and how—more than anything—their outlet needs a scoop. The takeaway, as I read it, is that when you call the media fake long enough, the media eventually bends to that perception. It’s to the book’s credit that this is conveyed via such a well-done, smart, and natural interaction, one that simultaneously raises questions about our own society while establishing baseline facts about the dystopian world of this story. I liked it.

And, really, I liked The Seeds quite a bit. The book is part of former Vertigo editor Karen Berger’s Dark Horse imprint Berger Books, and like other entries in that line, it features veteran creators playing out intricate and literary ideas with little regard for accessibility. The book is written by journalist/documentarian/comic writer Ann Nocenti and drawn by David Aja (Hawkeye), a powerful creative team with powerful aspirations.

It's also a team one can trust to tell a satisfying story. Atop its underlying complexity this book has many great understated character moments. There’s a love story afoot, one in which one party is duty-bound to refrain while the other is hesitant because the first party says their leaving—it’s a story to which many readers will relate.

Moreover, this is a comic that rarely goes page without a really freaking cool ideas of imagery: a nightlife venue called Club Death that simulates dying, a naked figure in a gas mask beneath a giant American flag with a shotgun and an old TV, a lunch of deep fried bugs. Casually bizarre and fantastic. Basically, if you’re into stuff like pop art or pleasantly-abstract indie filmmaking, chances are you’ll dig this.

Overall: The Seeds #1 is the work of veteran and ambitious creators. It uses complex ideas, commentary, and imagery to create a world and themes that linger with readers. The full scope of the story is not yet clear, but there is every reason to believe Nocenti and Aja can be trusted to deliver a satisfying execution. 8.5/10

For more comic book and movie reviews, check out our review archives here.

Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.

Top Comic Book Previews for the Week of July 30

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By Zack Quaintance — Our previews feature is back after a week hiatus during our trip to San Diego. Last week we did, however, roundup our picks for SDCC 2018’s 10 Coolest Comics Announcements...so check that out if you haven’t already.

Anyway, no use in belaboring it...on to the previews!

*Preview of the Week*
The Sons of El Topo Volume One: Cain OGN
Writer: Alejandro Jodorowsky
Artist: José Ladrönn
Publisher: Boom! Studios
More Info: December 2018
This is a hardcover original graphic novel from legendary filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky (Dune) and virtuosic illustrator José Ladrönn (Incredible Hulk) that continues the 1970 Mexican Acid Western film written, scored, directed by and starring Alejandro Jodorowsky himself. This sequel, arriving in stores December 2018, tells the story of El Topo—a bandit without limits and a man with no moral compass. But when his journey through the arid west brought him face to face with a series of rogue outcasts, he found enlightenment in the unlikeliest place and was forever transformed, becoming a holy vessel imbued with the power to perform miracles. This was a journey that took him far from his first born son, Cain, and brought about the birth of Abel.
Our Take: We love Jodorwsky (as much for his films as for his candid appearance in the all-time great art documentary Jodorwsky’s Dune), and while this presumably means an end to any chance of Jodo making a cinematic sequel to the first film, his comics are always imaginative and worthwhile. Oh, and the Ladrönn art is is just stellar.

Blackbird #1
Writer: Sam Humphries
Artist: Jen Bartel
Publisher: Image Comics
More Info: $3.99 / 32 pages / Oct. 3
An all-new ongoing series from fan-favorite writer SAM HUMPHRIES (Harley Quinn, Nightwing) and red-hot artist JEN BARTEL! In this neo-noir fantasy, Nina Rodriguez is positive that a secret magic world ruled by ruthless cabals is hiding just beneath the veneer of Los Angeles. The problem: everyone thinks she’s crazy. The bigger problem: she’s not crazy—she’s right. Can she unravel the mystery before the Great Beast catches up with her?
Our Take: Oooooo, shiny. Sam Humphries sensibilities and Jen Bartel’s art are such a wonderful fit, and look how nice it is washed over with all that neon. We’re not entirely sure what neo-noir fantasy means, but it looks like we’re in for some big magic fight in hella trendy LA. So, that’s cool.

Bone Parish #2
Writer: Cullen Bunn
Artist: Jonas Scharf
Publisher: Boom! Studios
More Info: $3.99 / 32 pages / Aug. 29
As a drug made from the ashes of the dead continues to spread across New Orleans, the Winters family is forced to defend their turf from the encroaching drug cartels. But some mysterious deaths could threaten everyone in New Orleans...
Our Take: Cards on the table...we haven’t read Bone Parish #1 just yet, but it was one of those books that half our Twitter feed (roughly) turned out to tell us to read. So, we’re on board with that and we’ll get to it when we have chance, plus also this second issue, too.

Harbinger Wars 2 Aftermath #1
Writer: Matt Kindt
Artist: Adam Polina
Publisher: Valiant Entertainment
More Info: $3.99 / 32 pages / Sept. 26
The power's back online and the fighting is over... but who are the real victors of HARBINGER WARS 2, and what was truly lost in the carnage? For those who survived the terrible onslaught - and who must now witness the devastating aftereffects of their actions - will there ever be peace again? As the seismic summer event of 2018 comes to a close, Eisner Award-nominated writer Matt Kindt (X-O MANOWAR, ETERNITY) sorts through the rubble of the most brutal confrontation ever felt in the Valiant Universe - and discover what lies beyond the bloodshed!
Our Take: It’s all in the solicit, isn’t it? Who ARE the real victors? We’ve enjoyed this event quite a bit (more than most Big 2 Events, incidentally), and what kind of savage would read and like an entire event and bail for the aftermath? Not us….not us.

Valiant High #4
Writer: Daniel Kibblesmith
Artist: Derek Charm
Publisher: Valiant Entertainment
More Info: $3.99 / 32 pages / Aug. 1
Save the last dance! Homecoming is here! For the students of Valiant High - the super-powered preparatory academy where tomorrow's heroes learn what it takes to save the world - that means that the biggest night of their young lives is almost upon them...and that the Immortal Enemy is finally ready to make his move! But as Faith, Colin "Ninjak" King, Peter Stanchek, and Amanda "Livewire" McKee try to stir unity amongst their classmates, can teamwork triumph over ancient evil? From rising star Daniel Kibblesmith (Lockjaw) and Eisner Award winner Derek Charm (Jughead), this side-splitting, all-ages reimagining of Valiant's greatest heroes is going out in style!
Our Take: Save the last dance, indeed! Like the Harbinger Wars 2 event serving as a refreshing alternative to Big 2 events, this 4-part series has been a refreshing proximation of Big 2 fun and irreverent character takes. Kibblesmith is pretty funny guy, both in terms of writing comics and on Twitter, too.

Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.

ADVANCED REVIEW: Hot Lunch Special #1 by Eliot Rahal, Jorge Fornes, & Taylor Esposito

There is a very personal feel to this story about mafia debts and severed appendages.

By Zack Quaintance — To join in on the food motif of Hot Lunch Special #1, let me start by saying this comic book feels like a main course of generational immigrant success story with a healthy side of Fargo-esque Midwestern crime noir, plus just a taste of a cautionary mafia power struggle. That’s a big meal (end of the food references, I swear), but it’s one that writer Eliot Rahal and artist Jorge Fornes serve up (damn it) expertly.

I liked Hot Lunch Special #1 quite a bit, and the main reason why is that there was a compelling level of realism here, one that at times made it feel almost like a memoir, although not quite because readers are never that far removed from a cops or crooks scene, or gasp a severed finger in a sandwich (that’s page 1, actually). Credit for this realism is, of course, due in large part to Rahal’s script, which I’m fairly certain was heavily informed by his familial history, but it’s also due to Fornes artwork, which strives for and achieves an immersive and intricate level of detail in even the book’s quietest moments—especially in the book’s quietest moments.

Fornes also does some great work with his colors, using them as so many masters have to make clear which scenes were set in the distant past for an older generation (one word: sepia) and which are in modern times.

There’s certainly a lot to pack into this debut, yet the book doesn’t fall victim to a frequent first issue pet peeve of mine: over exposition. No, there are no lengthy exchanges between two talking heads filling in how grandma met grandpa or how the family business first became entangled with organized crime (not a spoiler...all of that was in the solicit). Instead, Rahal and Fornes expertly careen this story through space and time, sparing us any over-inflation and keeping the narrative tight. It works so effectively that I halfway wondered if this was an oversized issued as I read. Put simply, a lot goes down.

But it’s all manageable and the hands of the creators go largely unnoticed. By the time the third act here came to its excellent cliffhanger of a conclusion, I felt like I knew who our main stakeholders were (especially the fantastic antagonist) and, more importantly, I felt like I had a reason to care about the story’s central family. I am—groan—ready for a second helping.  

Overall: Hot Lunch Special #1 takes a very personal generational story and mashes it up with  Fargo-esque Midwestern crime noir. It’s a quiet and grounded comic mostly, one that also feels taut and dangerous by its end. This first issue is promising, an excellent start for what may prove to be a unique book. 9.0/10

For more comic book and movie reviews, check out our review archives here.

Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.

The Infinite Crisis of Being a Helena Wayne Fan

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With DC’s Doomsday Clock halfway finished—and potentially serving as a re-instatement vessel for the Justice Society of America plus other DCU characters—we turned to Diane Darcy, likely the foremost expert on Helena Wayne, who details the history of her favorite character and why she should return.  

By Diane Darcy — I’ve made no secret that I’m a huge fan of Helena Wayne (see my blog, Tumblr, and Twitter), and today I’d like to share my interest with all of you. Let’s start at the character’s beginnings: Helena Wayne was created by Paul Levitz, Joe Staton, and Bob Layton in 1977, originally conceived as the daughter of the Golden Age versions of Batman and Catwoman—a very intriguing background from which to build a character—and as a member of DC’s original superhero team, the Justice Society. She is, essentially, a character built upon DC’s Golden Age lore.

Helena Wayne’s Relationships

In the Bronze Age, The Huntress and Power Girl together were a second generation World's Finest team.

People are often defined by their relationships and Helena Wayne is no exception. Her most significant are her friendships with the Earth-2 versions of Kara Zor-L (Power Girl) and with Dick Grayson, the original Golden Age Robin who continued with that identity into adulthood.

With Power Girl, Helena provided a contrast to Kara’s outspokenness, impulsivity, and more assertive personality, but she also loved and respected Kara for those same qualities. Kara connecting with Helena in a meaningful way created character development opportunities for both women, effectively allowing them to cement their place as the second generation World’s Finest team.

With Dick Grayson, Helena provided a different contrast. Whereas Dick maintained unwavering loyalty to her father—never challenging Bruce’s authority—Helena didn’t hold her father on the same pedestal. When she felt her father stepped out of line, she refused to accept it. She either challenged his authority or worked to diffuse the situation another way. We saw this most notably in All-Star Comics #69 and especially in America vs. the Justice Society. When it came to Batman’s legacy, Dick considered it his responsibility to continue his mentor’s work as Batman, whereas Helena felt she could more meaningfully carry on that legacy on her own terms as Huntress.

Part of what makes classic Helena Wayne such a compelling character is her status as a superhero and a working lawyer.

Helena Wayne and the Crisis on Infinite Earths

Apart from Helena’s time as a caped crusader, I found her civilian life just as interesting. When she wasn’t fighting the good fight as Huntress—or stopping major crises with the Justice Society—she had a day job as an attorney, which also created interesting conflicts. She had a stronger preference for her work as the Huntress and often found it difficult to balance that with her day job. Her double life also created relationship problems with her boyfriend Harry Sims, who was Gotham’s District Attorney.

This was all established in Helena Wayne’s first eight years of publication, and writers used it to tell incredibly fun stories that went in interesting directions. You can imagine then how devastating it was when she was one of the characters sacrificed in DC’s Crisis on Infinite Earths reboot in 1986, later to be retooled in 1989 as Helena Bertinelli, the character we know as The Huntress today.

Helena Bertinelli

While not a bad character, there's no denying that apart from physical appearance, nothing of the original Helena Wayne Huntress survived via Helena Bertinelli. She was completely retooled. In fact, by the time DC reinstated the Wayne origin two decades later (during Flashpoint) we still ended up with a completely different character. Post-Flashpoint, Helena Wayne had a new origin and the same post-Crisis Helena Bertinelli personality. Also, her relationships with both Power Girl and Dick Grayson were profoundly changed.

Between two cosmic reboots, Helena Wayne moved further away from the compelling character Levitz, Staton, and Layton created in 1977, and her situation was made all the more complicated by being retooled into Helena Bertinelli post-Crisis.

Part of the promise of Rebirth and Doomsday Clock, however, has seemed to involve restoring all of DC's characters to their iconic statuses. What, then, would DC need to do with Helena Wayne to restore her to her original compelling stature while also saving her future? I have a few recommendations…

Four Ways to Fix Helena Wayne

Classic Helena Wayne as The Huntress contemplates crime and its causes in South Gotham City.

1. Make Helena Wayne and Bertinelli Separate Characters

Step one is to stop treating Helena Wayne and Bertinelli as the same character with two different origins. They are—at their cores—profoundly different. They are two very different women with different backgrounds and significantly different motivations.

Helena Wayne became Huntress to honor her family legacy. Helena Bertinelli, meanwhile, became Huntress as a way to reject hers. Essentially, Helena Wayne embraces where she comes from and Helena Bertinelli does not. Helena Wayne is a legacy heroine whose core values and motivations are shaped by her upbringing as the daughter of Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle. Helena Bertinelli is a tragic heroine with a conflicted identity, molded by Italian-American heritage, her Catholic identity, and her roots within a crime family.

Quite literally the only thing Helena Wayne and Helena Bertinelli’s origins have in common is they both became Huntress after seeing their parents killed. The reasons and circumstances that led to the deaths, however, are still profoundly different, inevitably sending them on very different paths with different potential for stories. Simply put, Helena Bertinelli—while still a compelling character—does not satisfy the needs of Helena Wayne fans anymore than Wayne does Helena Bertinelli fans. The answer is to let these two women co-exist separately.

2. Reinstate Helena Wayne’s Pre-Crisis History

Maintaining Helena Wayne's legacy and motivations for fighting crime is vital to ensuring she remains a compelling character.

In post-Flashpoint continuity, a version of Helena Wayne was created in which she served as Robin. While it was cool to see what Helena as Robin looked like fighting alongside her parents, this is better as an Elseworlds or What If story. Making her Robin changes too much of her character.

In pre-Crisis continuity, Bruce and Selina marry only after reflecting on their lifestyle choices and concluding they were not happy with where their futures were going. They also reflected on who they were as people, realizing that Batman and Catwoman were outlets for pain, not true identities. When they became parents, they retired their costumes to give their daughter a normal upbringing. Making Helena Robin changes Bruce and Selina from responsible to irresponsible parents who brought their daughter into their dangerous lifestyles—a regressive change.

Making Helena Robin also drastically changes her motivation. Pre-Crisis, Helena became Huntress both in response to her parents' deaths and in response to their legacies. She felt that with the upbringing she had, she had a stronger chance of making a difference in Gotham as the Huntress than as a lawyer in a courtroom. Why wait for a crime to happen when she could actively prevent it? The decision to become a costumed hero was entirely her own. It was very powerful. As Robin, the decision was made for her by her parents when she was a young age.

Finally, it’s simply more interesting having Helena Wayne as a Harvard graduate and a successful lawyer. She just has so much more agency than if you make her yet another sidekick whose choices were made for her while she was a child. Seeing Helena try to balance her life as a lawyer and as the Huntress created a conflicting and compelling dichotomy that affected her most intimate relationships.

3. Reinstate Her Original Identity, Personality, and Relationships

Speaking of her identity and relationships, the change I want most is to see them reinstated. I love when Helena Wayne’s Huntress showcases her detective skills, combat training, and, of course, her signature pistol crossbow, but her civilian identity is just as important. It’s the Helena Wayne side of that Huntress that most strongly attracts me to her character vs. Helena Bertinelli when she occupies the same costume.

What makes the Helena Wayne identity so special? It goes back to what I said at the start. She is the daughter of the Golden Age Batman and Catwoman, and she originated the Huntress identity as a way to continue their legacy. In being the original Huntress, she even provided the base template for Helena Bertinelli. (I always think of Helena Wayne as the Jay Garrick to Helena Bertinelli's Barry Allen.)

I also like the fact that she is a lawyer because it positions her as a working woman who earns her own money as opposed to living on her family's fortune. She even differs in this way from her father, who seemed to spend more time fighting crime as Batman than working a real job. (Golden Age Bruce started working a real job after he retired his Batman lifestyle.)

On the personality front, pre-Crisis Helena Wayne was never a dark and brooding heroine. Even when she experienced low points in her life, she still maintained a high level of self-confidence, which always spoke to me. She remained happy and optimistic in the face of grave troubles, which is another way she differs significantly from Helena Bertinelli.

While not as important as her relationship with Power Girl, Helena's friendship with Golden Age Dick Grayson is also worth revisiting.

What was also vital to her personality was her relationships, which brings me to another vital point—Helena Wayne needs Power Girl in her life and vice versa. They enrich each other's lives by being the legacies of the Golden Age Batman and Superman, and their friendship also makes their tragic circumstances a little less sad. If Power Girl in particular is going to return to her status quo of being the Earth-2 survivor of the Crisis reboot (a development we’ve seen hints of), having Helena is vital.

Another relationship that would definitely enrich Helena's life on the main Earth would be rebuilding her friendship with Dick Grayson. Even though Nightwing is a different character from the guy she knew as her big brother on the original Earth-2, the Prime Earth Dick still embodies the charm and appeal of the Golden Age Robin (perhaps with a better fashion sense). Of course, DC could also just retcon the current Earth-2 Grayson back into the pre-Crisis original and settle for having two Dicks on the main Earth instead of one. I mean, why not? We already have two Wally Wests. Just let the Earth-2 guy grow a beard and call him Richard. But I digress…

One more classic Huntress panel for the road...

4. Return Her to the Justice Society

Last but not least, reinstate Helena’s membership into the Justice Society. The Justice Society was her superhero family from the beginning, and putting her back on the team would allow her to reclaim her place within DC's Golden Age lore. She was always a character built on that history. Now we have a main Earth that erases the Trinity from the Golden Age, but putting an Earth-2 Helena Wayne Huntress alongside Power Girl, along with Lyta Trevor as Fury, would help make up for that.

I am, however, a realist, and I know it is unlikely that any of the things I want to see happen for Helena Wayne post-Rebirth will actually happen. If there is, however, a creator or editor at DC who’s thinking of Helena Wayne fans (like me), we’d absolutely love to see the classic character return. Her existence would benefit other characters in the DCU, and, most importantly, she is still so ripe with the potential for good stories.

Click here for a reading list of comics starring Bronze Age Helena Wayne.

Diane Darcy is a huge fan of Bronze Age DC, Earth-2, the Justice Society, Power Girl, and especially Helena Wayne as the Huntress. When Diane isn’t obsessing about comics, she enjoys music, writing, animals, and researching exoplanets, multiverse theories, and time dilation. You can find her at @HelenaWayneBlog