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Collecting Detective Comics #722, #724-726, Batman #555-559, Batman: Shadow of the Bat #75-79, and The Batman Chronicles #14.
Alan Grant is regular writer on Batman: Shadow of the Bat #75 and Mark Buckingham is the regular artist. Mr. Freeze is looting abandoned jewellery store for diamonds to fuel his cryo-suit. Batman manages to stop him, but Cayface has been freed by the earthquake and attacks before Batman can hand Freeze over to the proper authorities.
I like Mr. Freeze and Clayface, so it was cool to see Batman fighting them at once. The Cataclysm story arc was fine, but there weren't than many big name villains for Batman to fight. I guess he had more important things to do instead of fighting the usual loonies. Any way, Batman ends up getting trapped by Clayface and has to appeal to Mr. Freeze's ego to get him to fight Clayface in his place. It is a pretty cool fight. For some reason, Clayface has electric powers now and it makes a good visual against Mr. Freeze's ice.
Doug Moench is the regular writer for Batman #555. John Beatty is on art. A subway train full of passengers is stuck in a collapsed tunnel without any hope of rescue. Batman and Robin know a way to reach them. Unfortunately, so does the Ratcatcher.
Ratcatcher might seem pretty lame compared to some of Batman's villains, but I quite like him. He uses rats to commit crimes, I love that kind of silly nonsense. The guy used to kill rats for a living, so I can't help but wonder what changed his mind and made him decide to use rats in his crimes. Then again, he isn't exactly a friend to all rats as he doesn't seem to have a problem sacrificing the rats to get away.
Chuck Dixon is the regular writer for Detective Comics #722. Jim Aparo is on art. A little girl is lost among the ruins of Gotham and Robin decides to help her find her family.
While Robin is trying to find the little girl's family, Commissioner Gordon's wife Sarah is stuck trying to get some bureaucratic ass at the water company to open up the reservoir so people can get fresh water. The man refuses to do anything without the proper authority, no matter that Sarah Essen-Gordon is the highest ranking city official in the area. The guy soon changes his mind though because you don't become a Captain in the Gotham City Police Department without being a stone-cold badass.
In Batman: Shadow of the Bat #76, Batman has to run a gauntlet of dangers to save a group of wealthy socialites trapped by the earthquake.
You have to wonder about Batman's insistence of saving everyone, no matter how much of an asshole they are. While Batman is risking his life scrambling around trying to find a way in, the rich jerks inside turn on each other. Mark Buckingham's art is cute in a cartoony sort of way as well, but sometimes his facial expressions look a bit off.
Robin #54 is written by Chuck Dixon and illustrated by Staz Johnson. Robin searches for any sign of his missing girlfriend as the Spoiler asks his help to rescue her costume from the ruins of her home. Unfortunately, Spoiler's father, the Cluemaster, is hiding out in the family home.
As a fan of Cassandra Cain's Batgirl I know Stephanie Brown best as her friend. I haven't read enough of her appearances in Robin's own book to see her as his kind-of-sort-of love interest. Most of the people I follow online ship Steph with Cass any way. Tim already has a girlfriend, Ariana, so I don't have a problem shipping Steph with Cass instead. Unfortunately, I think Ariana was written out so Tim and Steph could become a couple officially.
Norm Breyfogle is on art for Batman #556. Batman continues to rescue people trapped in the earthquake-stricken Gotham City. Meanwhile, Nightwing and the rest of Batman's allies struggle to rebuild the ruined Wayne Manor.
One of the main worries about rebuilding Wayne Manor that Bruce had was workmen finding the Batcave. The solution to that is to move all the incriminating evidence out of the cave until repairs are done. Of course, it proves easier said than done when the incriminating evidence includes such things as a dinosaur statue and a giant penny.
In Batman: Shadow of the Bat #77, Batman is captured by a university professor driven mad after being trapped for weeks with a classroom of dead students.
The mad professor wants to prove that it's not the fittest that survive, but the luckiest. His solution is to have Batman complete a set of tasks that nobody could possibly survive. Tasks such as walking across a girder while blindfolded. There are also some weird looking faces from Mark Buckingham as well. The looter that is also trapped with Batman looks sub-human. The professor's face looks downright tiny compared to the rest of his head as well.
Vince Giarrano is on art for Batman #557. Batman is forced to team-up with the mercenary Ballistic to find a mysterious box buried under the ruins of Gotham. Unfortunately, there are people who would prefer that the contents of the box remained a mystery.
Doug Moench must really like Ballistic because I think he's the only writer that ever uses him. For those of you that don't remember, Ballistic is one of those characters that DC introduced in the Bloodlines crossover that ran across their 1993 Annuals. Aliens came to Earth to feed on spinal fluid. Some of the victims ended up with super-powers as a result. To the surprise of absolutely nobody, hardly any of the characters caught on and they quickly faded into obscurity. I might have a poor opinion on the Bloodlines story as a whole, but I have to admit that Ballistic is sort of growing on me. I love those terrible 90's characters and I would be a hypocrite if I didn't feel the same way about Ballistic.
In Detective Comics #724, Batman and Nightwing continue trying to maintain order in the remains of Gotham.
Fighting looters is the order of the day again in this issues. I suppose most of Batman's usual villains are keeping a low profile. According to the issues in the the Cataclysm trade, most of Batman's villains are still in Arkham. Well, most of the name brand villains at least. There is a neat parallel between Bruce Wayne, using his riches to do all he can to help Gotham, to Devlin Davenport, who acts like your stereotypical rich asshole and only thinks of himself. Batman gives the jerk what-for when he commandeers a bulldozer to plough through a building that Davenport owns that is blocking relief efforts.
In Batman: Shadow of the Bat #78, Bruce Wayne tries to convince Gotham's businessmen not to abandon the city as the Mad Hatter plans to loot what is left and Narcosis sets off a cloud of gas that will destroy people's minds.
The Mad Hatter is one Batman villain who is free. I have no idea who Narcosis is though. Some edgy new villain that didn't catch on? I faintly recollect him appearing after the Clench outbreak in the Cataclysm trade. The fact that I don't remember tells you how little of an impression he left on me. As silly as his obsession with hats is, at least the Mad Hatter leaves an impression.
In Batman: Shadow of the Bat #79, the Mad Hatter and Narcosis work together turn the people into blissed-out vegetables and it comes down to Batman to stop them.
It looks like I was right in my suspicion that Narcosis was a new edgy villain that never caught on. Batman even goes on to say that he is one of the most dangerous foes he has ever faced. Yeah, right! It turns out that Batman has a rad monster truck to help him get around the ruins of Gotham. I even has a rocket launcher mounted on the back. Of course, he claims that it's meant for clearing debris.
The first story in Batman Chronicles #14 is written by Lisa Klink and illustrated by David Boller. Alfred stands alone as looters set their sights on the ruined Wayne Manor. The second story is written by Bruce Canwell and illustrated by Jim Aparo. Huntress searches for a missing school bus. The third story is written by Greg Rucka and illustrated by Sal Buscema. Renee Montoya's brother recounts a mission he went on for the United States Army and all the people that he believed died because of him.
I really like Alfred as a character, so the first story in this issue was a treat for me. Alfred Pennyworth might seem like your typically stuffy Brit, but he has proven time and again that he is quite capable of giving any young ruffians a good hiding. The looters trying to rob Wayne Manor underestimated him at their peril. The Huntress is a teacher in her civilian identity, so she takes a personal interest when a busload of students goes missing. She finds the kids in an abandoned slaughterhouse. Cannibals kidnapping kids sounds grim even for Gotham. The Montoya story was a text piece, a surprise in a comic book. It was nice to see more about Montoya's family life though.
Jim Aparo is on art for Batman #558. Batman is wracked with doubt as he continues to help where he can in the ruins of Gotham.
The issues gets of to a sweet start with Alfred giving Bruce a comforting hug. Modern Batman writes can learn from this. Batman isn't an unfeeling edgy loner. Why would he adopt so many kids if he didn't care? As you can tell, I much prefer the Batman that is a loving father to the rest of the Bat-family, not the edgy loner from the modern comics. Also in this issue, Batman is feeling bad enough fighting a seeming losing battle trying to keep Gotham together, so you can imagine how he would feel if he found looters digging up the bodies of his parents.
Bob Hall is on art for Batman #559. Gotham's one remaining hospital is besieged by gang members seeking drugs. It's up to Bullock and Montoya to protect the patients as Batman and Robin race to help.
These past issues have been focused on Batman and the rest of the Bat-family, so it was nice to see what Gotham's last few honest cops were up to. Bullock and Montoya have made a few odd appearances throughout these issues, but they are the focus of this issue. I gather that Bullock is a bit of a film buff, that's why he makes a reference to Night of the Living Dead. I hate zombie films, so Assault on Precinct 13 might be a reference more relevant to my interests. Thankfully, it looks like Bullock thinks so as well. I already liked Harvey Bullock, but knowing that he his a big film nerd like me only makes me like him more.
William Rosado is on art for Detective Comics #725. Batman and Nightwing tour the remains of Gotham and try to figure out the city's future.
Things must be getting bad if Batman is thinking of leaving. Of course, we all know that Batman would never leave Gotham to rot. It's kind of cheap drama really, making us think that Batman is going to cut his losses and leave. At least Nightwing is there to be the voice of optimism.
Brian Stelfreeze is on art for Detective Comics #726. When a little girl is kidnapped and her kidnapper turns up dead, Batman must turn to the only person who could possibly know her whereabouts, the Joker.
After so much darkness I was looking forward to seeing Batman beat up the Joker. That always cheers me up. It also helped that it was the anniversary of Jason Todd's death, so Batman wasn't in the best of moods to begin with and the last thing he wanted was a nutcase clown sassing him.
Another decent collection of stories. Obviously, these stories are all about the aftermath of the earthquake that struck in the previous story arc and how the people of Gotham are surviving. I would normally be disappointed at the lack of villains for Batman to fight, but there are plenty of character moments to satisfy me instead. Unfortunately for Gotham, there are still dark times ahead. We will see just how bad things will get in the next volume.
My rating: 4 stars.
Next time: Avengers- Heart of Stone
Alan Grant is regular writer on Batman: Shadow of the Bat #75 and Mark Buckingham is the regular artist. Mr. Freeze is looting abandoned jewellery store for diamonds to fuel his cryo-suit. Batman manages to stop him, but Cayface has been freed by the earthquake and attacks before Batman can hand Freeze over to the proper authorities.
I like Mr. Freeze and Clayface, so it was cool to see Batman fighting them at once. The Cataclysm story arc was fine, but there weren't than many big name villains for Batman to fight. I guess he had more important things to do instead of fighting the usual loonies. Any way, Batman ends up getting trapped by Clayface and has to appeal to Mr. Freeze's ego to get him to fight Clayface in his place. It is a pretty cool fight. For some reason, Clayface has electric powers now and it makes a good visual against Mr. Freeze's ice.
Doug Moench is the regular writer for Batman #555. John Beatty is on art. A subway train full of passengers is stuck in a collapsed tunnel without any hope of rescue. Batman and Robin know a way to reach them. Unfortunately, so does the Ratcatcher.
Ratcatcher might seem pretty lame compared to some of Batman's villains, but I quite like him. He uses rats to commit crimes, I love that kind of silly nonsense. The guy used to kill rats for a living, so I can't help but wonder what changed his mind and made him decide to use rats in his crimes. Then again, he isn't exactly a friend to all rats as he doesn't seem to have a problem sacrificing the rats to get away.
Chuck Dixon is the regular writer for Detective Comics #722. Jim Aparo is on art. A little girl is lost among the ruins of Gotham and Robin decides to help her find her family.
While Robin is trying to find the little girl's family, Commissioner Gordon's wife Sarah is stuck trying to get some bureaucratic ass at the water company to open up the reservoir so people can get fresh water. The man refuses to do anything without the proper authority, no matter that Sarah Essen-Gordon is the highest ranking city official in the area. The guy soon changes his mind though because you don't become a Captain in the Gotham City Police Department without being a stone-cold badass.
In Batman: Shadow of the Bat #76, Batman has to run a gauntlet of dangers to save a group of wealthy socialites trapped by the earthquake.
You have to wonder about Batman's insistence of saving everyone, no matter how much of an asshole they are. While Batman is risking his life scrambling around trying to find a way in, the rich jerks inside turn on each other. Mark Buckingham's art is cute in a cartoony sort of way as well, but sometimes his facial expressions look a bit off.
Robin #54 is written by Chuck Dixon and illustrated by Staz Johnson. Robin searches for any sign of his missing girlfriend as the Spoiler asks his help to rescue her costume from the ruins of her home. Unfortunately, Spoiler's father, the Cluemaster, is hiding out in the family home.
As a fan of Cassandra Cain's Batgirl I know Stephanie Brown best as her friend. I haven't read enough of her appearances in Robin's own book to see her as his kind-of-sort-of love interest. Most of the people I follow online ship Steph with Cass any way. Tim already has a girlfriend, Ariana, so I don't have a problem shipping Steph with Cass instead. Unfortunately, I think Ariana was written out so Tim and Steph could become a couple officially.
Norm Breyfogle is on art for Batman #556. Batman continues to rescue people trapped in the earthquake-stricken Gotham City. Meanwhile, Nightwing and the rest of Batman's allies struggle to rebuild the ruined Wayne Manor.
One of the main worries about rebuilding Wayne Manor that Bruce had was workmen finding the Batcave. The solution to that is to move all the incriminating evidence out of the cave until repairs are done. Of course, it proves easier said than done when the incriminating evidence includes such things as a dinosaur statue and a giant penny.
In Batman: Shadow of the Bat #77, Batman is captured by a university professor driven mad after being trapped for weeks with a classroom of dead students.
The mad professor wants to prove that it's not the fittest that survive, but the luckiest. His solution is to have Batman complete a set of tasks that nobody could possibly survive. Tasks such as walking across a girder while blindfolded. There are also some weird looking faces from Mark Buckingham as well. The looter that is also trapped with Batman looks sub-human. The professor's face looks downright tiny compared to the rest of his head as well.
Vince Giarrano is on art for Batman #557. Batman is forced to team-up with the mercenary Ballistic to find a mysterious box buried under the ruins of Gotham. Unfortunately, there are people who would prefer that the contents of the box remained a mystery.
Doug Moench must really like Ballistic because I think he's the only writer that ever uses him. For those of you that don't remember, Ballistic is one of those characters that DC introduced in the Bloodlines crossover that ran across their 1993 Annuals. Aliens came to Earth to feed on spinal fluid. Some of the victims ended up with super-powers as a result. To the surprise of absolutely nobody, hardly any of the characters caught on and they quickly faded into obscurity. I might have a poor opinion on the Bloodlines story as a whole, but I have to admit that Ballistic is sort of growing on me. I love those terrible 90's characters and I would be a hypocrite if I didn't feel the same way about Ballistic.
In Detective Comics #724, Batman and Nightwing continue trying to maintain order in the remains of Gotham.
Fighting looters is the order of the day again in this issues. I suppose most of Batman's usual villains are keeping a low profile. According to the issues in the the Cataclysm trade, most of Batman's villains are still in Arkham. Well, most of the name brand villains at least. There is a neat parallel between Bruce Wayne, using his riches to do all he can to help Gotham, to Devlin Davenport, who acts like your stereotypical rich asshole and only thinks of himself. Batman gives the jerk what-for when he commandeers a bulldozer to plough through a building that Davenport owns that is blocking relief efforts.
In Batman: Shadow of the Bat #78, Bruce Wayne tries to convince Gotham's businessmen not to abandon the city as the Mad Hatter plans to loot what is left and Narcosis sets off a cloud of gas that will destroy people's minds.
The Mad Hatter is one Batman villain who is free. I have no idea who Narcosis is though. Some edgy new villain that didn't catch on? I faintly recollect him appearing after the Clench outbreak in the Cataclysm trade. The fact that I don't remember tells you how little of an impression he left on me. As silly as his obsession with hats is, at least the Mad Hatter leaves an impression.
In Batman: Shadow of the Bat #79, the Mad Hatter and Narcosis work together turn the people into blissed-out vegetables and it comes down to Batman to stop them.
It looks like I was right in my suspicion that Narcosis was a new edgy villain that never caught on. Batman even goes on to say that he is one of the most dangerous foes he has ever faced. Yeah, right! It turns out that Batman has a rad monster truck to help him get around the ruins of Gotham. I even has a rocket launcher mounted on the back. Of course, he claims that it's meant for clearing debris.
The first story in Batman Chronicles #14 is written by Lisa Klink and illustrated by David Boller. Alfred stands alone as looters set their sights on the ruined Wayne Manor. The second story is written by Bruce Canwell and illustrated by Jim Aparo. Huntress searches for a missing school bus. The third story is written by Greg Rucka and illustrated by Sal Buscema. Renee Montoya's brother recounts a mission he went on for the United States Army and all the people that he believed died because of him.
I really like Alfred as a character, so the first story in this issue was a treat for me. Alfred Pennyworth might seem like your typically stuffy Brit, but he has proven time and again that he is quite capable of giving any young ruffians a good hiding. The looters trying to rob Wayne Manor underestimated him at their peril. The Huntress is a teacher in her civilian identity, so she takes a personal interest when a busload of students goes missing. She finds the kids in an abandoned slaughterhouse. Cannibals kidnapping kids sounds grim even for Gotham. The Montoya story was a text piece, a surprise in a comic book. It was nice to see more about Montoya's family life though.
Jim Aparo is on art for Batman #558. Batman is wracked with doubt as he continues to help where he can in the ruins of Gotham.
The issues gets of to a sweet start with Alfred giving Bruce a comforting hug. Modern Batman writes can learn from this. Batman isn't an unfeeling edgy loner. Why would he adopt so many kids if he didn't care? As you can tell, I much prefer the Batman that is a loving father to the rest of the Bat-family, not the edgy loner from the modern comics. Also in this issue, Batman is feeling bad enough fighting a seeming losing battle trying to keep Gotham together, so you can imagine how he would feel if he found looters digging up the bodies of his parents.
Bob Hall is on art for Batman #559. Gotham's one remaining hospital is besieged by gang members seeking drugs. It's up to Bullock and Montoya to protect the patients as Batman and Robin race to help.
These past issues have been focused on Batman and the rest of the Bat-family, so it was nice to see what Gotham's last few honest cops were up to. Bullock and Montoya have made a few odd appearances throughout these issues, but they are the focus of this issue. I gather that Bullock is a bit of a film buff, that's why he makes a reference to Night of the Living Dead. I hate zombie films, so Assault on Precinct 13 might be a reference more relevant to my interests. Thankfully, it looks like Bullock thinks so as well. I already liked Harvey Bullock, but knowing that he his a big film nerd like me only makes me like him more.
William Rosado is on art for Detective Comics #725. Batman and Nightwing tour the remains of Gotham and try to figure out the city's future.
Things must be getting bad if Batman is thinking of leaving. Of course, we all know that Batman would never leave Gotham to rot. It's kind of cheap drama really, making us think that Batman is going to cut his losses and leave. At least Nightwing is there to be the voice of optimism.
Brian Stelfreeze is on art for Detective Comics #726. When a little girl is kidnapped and her kidnapper turns up dead, Batman must turn to the only person who could possibly know her whereabouts, the Joker.
After so much darkness I was looking forward to seeing Batman beat up the Joker. That always cheers me up. It also helped that it was the anniversary of Jason Todd's death, so Batman wasn't in the best of moods to begin with and the last thing he wanted was a nutcase clown sassing him.
Another decent collection of stories. Obviously, these stories are all about the aftermath of the earthquake that struck in the previous story arc and how the people of Gotham are surviving. I would normally be disappointed at the lack of villains for Batman to fight, but there are plenty of character moments to satisfy me instead. Unfortunately for Gotham, there are still dark times ahead. We will see just how bad things will get in the next volume.
My rating: 4 stars.
Next time: Avengers- Heart of Stone
Category Story / All
Species Unspecified / Any
Size 78 x 120px
File Size 12.1 kB
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