Batman: “War Drums” (DC)

Writer: Andersen Gabrych & Bill Willingham | Artists: Pete Woods, Damion Scott & Brad Walker | Inks: Cam Smith, Damion Scott, Troy Nixey & Robert Campanella | Colors: Jason Wright & Guy Major

Familial discord lies at the heart of BATMAN: WAR DRUMS as Batman is taxed to the limit by new threats and trouble within his family. When Tim Drake’s father discovers his son's identity as Robin, Tim is forced to quit the team. Everyone must adjust as the Spoiler Attempts to fill his boots, with disastrous results.

Collects: Detective Comics #790-796, Robin #126-128

I bought this a while ago, but for some reason took my sweet time getting around to it. And damn it was good. I hadn’t really been sure what to expect from it, but everything from the writing to the artwork is fantastic. There’s a nice balance between Gabrych’s darker chapters and Willingham’s slightly lighter chapters, and I was hooked from the first page until the end.

Covering SWAMP THING

I didn’t love the first six issues of Scott Snyder’s Swamp Thing as much as many other comics reviewers and fans. It was just a little too weird for me at the time, I think. I’ve jotted down some thoughts for a review, which I’ll post sometime in the near future. In the meantime, I wanted to share the artwork for issue #15, which was published today:

The piece is by Yanick Paquette, who has also provided internal artwork for some issues in the series. I just thought it was really striking – gothic, moody, and a little odd with the Big Green in an urban environment like Gotham. Here’s the synopsis for the issue:

Batman’s fate in the Rotworld is revealed!

Guest-starring the inmates of Arkham Asylum who have been dramatically affected by battling the Green, the Red and the Rot!

“Batman: Death by Design” (DC)

An artistic, original graphic novel

Writer: Chip Kidd | Artist: Dave Taylor

Gotham City is undergoing one of the most expansive construction booms in its history. The most prestigious architects from across the globe have buildings in various phases of completion all over town. As chairman of the Gotham Landmarks Commission, Bruce Wayne has been a key part of this boom, which signals a golden age of architectural ingenuity for the city. And then, the explosions begin.All manner of design-related malfunctions – faulty crane calculations, sturdy materials suddenly collapsing, software glitches, walkways giving way and more – cause casualties across the city. This bizarre string of seemingly random catastrophes threatens to bring down the whole construction industry. Fingers are pointed as Batman must somehow solve the problem and find whoever is behind it all.

Before picking this up, I had only seen one preview page, and I was really intrigued by the style and story – it looked gloomy and atmospheric, which are two things I’ve always associated with Batman. As it turns out, my initial impressions wer right on the money, and I’m really glad I bought this – this is a great detective/investigative story, rendered in some truly wonderful artwork. Very impressive.