Review: Red Hood and the Outlaws #2

In the first issue of Red Hood and the Outlaws we’re introduced to Red Hood (former Batman sidekick Jason Todd), Arsenal (not yet code named in the new DCU Roy Harper, former Green Arrow sidekick, though that’s never explicitly stated either), and Starfire (Exiled alien Princess Koriand’R). They’re not a team but Red Hood & Arsenal have worked together before, and Arsenal has worked with Starfire before. They’re all on the fringe of the superhero community, though we’re not directly told why (their willingness to kill is likely a cause).

They don’t exactly get along, but they don’t necessarily hate each other either, despite how they act. They’re like siblings or college roommates, kind of thrown together by circumstance, not always liking it, but going with it, at least for now.

The issue opens with a flashback to Jason Todd’s introduction to the All Caste, a mystic group of martial artists who exist in a place that may not be in this universe/dimension/plane of reality. He’s brought there by Talia al Ghul for training. She hopes to calm his rage and teach him the discipline he seems to lack since returning from the dead. This is a great sequence because it simultaneously adds to the Jason Todd story long time readers know while still being able to stand on its own for new readers. Plus he gets his ass handed to him by a tiny old lady.

Don’t patronize other dimensional old ladies. No matter how tiny they are, they’re always ninjas.

Turns out Talia believes in Jason’s potential, and as is typical for all DC martial artists, he needs to spend a lot of time with a secret cabal of monk-ninjas. As stereotypical as this plot devise is, it still works. Not only does the long, extensive training increase believability that a non-powered human can fight in a superhuman world, it also gives credence to Jason being the leader of the group.

Skip ahead and Jason and Roy are on a plane to find out what’s happened to the All Caste. Scott Lobdell does a good job of playing up the banter between the two. They’re clearly friends no matter what they say. His dialog isn’t quite Whedon good, but it’s a fun dynamic and definitely adds to the story. This is played up even more when they meet up with Kori and Roy tries to bring up the sexual tension that he’s apparently the only one to feel/acknowledge.

We cut to a safehouse of Jason’s where he’s ‘surprised’ by something ugly who he has some kind of history with.

Something UGLY!!

This scene is both confusing and not. Obviously it’s designed to show that Jason A) probably has enemies everywhere, B) sets the stage for future retribution (RE: Plots), C) is always prepared and therefore a D) Badass. Which it does. However it also seems to be out of nowhere and somewhat throws the issue off.

Cut to the ‘still not a team’ of Red Hood & Arsenal jumping out of a plane, being met by Starfire, and finding their way through the holographic/portal opening to the All Caste. We find out the All Caste have all been killed, something that is actually upsetting to Jason. I have to say, it’s a mark to Lobdell’s characterization of Jason that as a reader I can both tell how upsetting these deaths are to him while simultaneously realizing that this is a rare expression of emotion for the character.

The ensuing battle is great for a number of reasons. The action is brutal and swift. The characters fight in distinct ways and yet work well together as a team. It can easily be missed in other team books when each hero simply attacks with whatever their power is (aka everyone shoot at once). Lobdell & Rocafort do an excellent job of blending the action to show teamwork. And the art is wonderful.

Kenneth Rocafort is handling both pencils and inks and it shows in the best way. He has a great handle on these characters and his depiction of their facial expressions goes a long ways to showcase their emotions and feelings throughout the book. And his inks are ultra detailed for close up shots and more subdued for distance shots. His style reminds me a lot of cinema, in that sense. I also am a big fan of how he plays around with the layouts. It’s similar to what J.H. Williams III is doing on Batwoman, while remaining unique and true to this story.

I love the group dynamic both in and out of battle. They’re fun, precise, and play off each other perfectly. This ‘team’ clearly works well together and I’m very much excited to see where they go next.

By Kephus with No comments

Teen Titans #1

All right, kids. Settle down. Class is in session. In 1940, sales of Detective Comics were already flagging. So to revitalize sales writers Bob Kane and Bill Finger (Creators of Batman) and artist Jerry Robinson came up with an idea that revolutionized comic books forever. In Detective Comics #38 (April 1940) Batman’s teenage sidekick Robin was introduced and the comics industry was never the same again. Over the next decade teen sidekicks popped up all over the place becoming a staple of the superhero genre. Green Arrow, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Flash, even direct competition like Captain America all now had a sidekick to help in the “never ending battle”.

After being kept separate for nearly 25 years (1964), in the pages of the DC team-up series The Brave and the Bold, Robin (Dick Greyson), Kid Flash (Wally West), and Aqualad (Garth) teamed up for the first time, becoming a “Junior Justice League” in issue #54. Four issues later and the team was joined by Wonder Girl (Donna Troy) and Green Arrow’s sidekick Speedy (Roy Harper) to form the first official incarnation of the Teen Titans! In the following decades the team meet with moderate success, including an animated segment on The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure (1967–1968), but it wasn’t until 1980 that the team really took off. When the team was re-vamped as The NEW Teen Titans, writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Pérez used the original team, now older, experienced, young adult heroes in their own right, and new original young heroes with a variety of unique powers and personalities. With the Titans together they faced new, powerful evils like the assassin Deathstroke the Terminator, the other-dimentional demon Trigon, and betrayal by one of their own in arguably one of the greatest comic book storyarchs of all time, The Judas Contract.

During this time the Titans grew and evolved as a team and as individuals. Most notably Dick Greyson who, as team leader, moved out of the shadows as Batman’s sidekick and grew into a true superhero in his own right as Nightwing (Although, the less said about his original “disco” costume, the better).

The series was a runaway hit. The heroes and other characters were unique and interesting, the villains were truly dangerous and had a lasting impact, and the stories were intriguing adventures that crafted not only the history of the team, but much of the DCU in general. This version was also used as the basis for the wildly popular anime-style 2003 animated series.

An animated series was created by Hanna-Barbera in the early 1980’s, but never picked up by a network. However, the New Teen Titans did make an animated appearance in a single anti-drug commercial in 1984, sponsored by Keebler. So, now you can see why the success of this title holds so much importance during the reboot for a fanboy like me.

Speaking of being a fanboy, I would be remiss if I didn’t take a minute to mention Red Hood and the Outlaws seeing as how it’s also written by the same person doing the Teen Titans reboot, Scott Lobdell, and mentions the original team as having existed in the DCnU. There is already a review for this book on the site and I recommended it to anyone who wants some very good reasons to give this title a chance. I on the other hand closed the book with the single thought, “Sex sells and Starfire is a cheap ho”. I actually don’t have a problem with her being a “free spirit”, but it’s her cold disregard of her old team, especially Dick Greyson, that felt like a knife through the heart. Their star-crossed love affair was truly charming during the NEW era, even if it wasn’t meant to be. I’ll get off my soapbox now.

The reboot of Teen Titans focuses on a second generation of teen heroes. In the DCU, they were following in the legacy of the original team, which may or may not exist in the DCnU if Red Hood is any indication. In any case, this team is being formed and lead by the third person to hold the title of Batman’s sidekick, Tim Drake, now known as Red Robin. This time, however, instead of leading a team looking to uphold a proud legacy, the team is now a group of troubled teens with super powers.

At least Kid Flash is trying to be a hero. The problem is he’s just too…impulsive. Which leads me to question if this Kid Flash is Wally West, hero-worshipping nephew of the Flash, or Bart Allen, the immature, time-displaced grandson of the Flash. I guess we’ll find out later.

Cassandra “Don’t Call Me ‘Wonder Girl’” Sansmark is looking hot as ever, but instead of being a Wonder Woman fan who stood up to Zeus for the honor of fighting at her hero’s side we get a snarky con-artist who uses her powers to steal cars for joyriding. I can see that there will be more to her down the line, but the line “I was really hoping to clock a few skulls together” was just cringe worthy. It’s a mixed metaphor!

I’m okay with the history of Superboy being changed to the “Boy from N.O.W.H.E.R.E.”. I’m going to miss the legacy of his original origin, but if Superman hasn’t died in the DCnU, then he needs a new introduction. Superboy is now the experiment of an evil shadow organization that will have to overcome the reasons for his creation to become a hero with the help of his new friends. I really like where this is going, even if it was lifted from the current animated series Young Justice. Plus I really like the line “Release the Superboy” as the cliffhanger ending.

I really liked seeing all of the other teen heroes on the monitors Red Robin was watching. Static, Miss Martian, Raven, Solstice; it’s nice to see that they exist in the DCnU. Even if it is just a tease I’d like to think at least some of them might make the team at some point.

Speaking of this scene, I found so much wrong with it I actually had to laugh. The problem is not with Red robin “Batmanning” it up and monitoring the news of young metahuman; it’s the fact that he’s doing it in a Lexcorp building and let’s an enemy force sneak in behind him and SEE HIS FACE! Way to be stealthy, Timmy!

I also had to chuckle at the absurdity of the picture he held as he lamented what Batman had “started” with teen heroes. I get that it’s an homage to the original Batman and Robin, but who took a picture of them swinging over buildings? Was Alfred just standing on a rooftop with a camera saying, “Now say, ‘I’m the goddamn Batman’”? I’m surprised it isn’t autographed “To Timmy, Love Bruce”.

Despite that and even if I don’t like/agree with all of the characterizations so far, the writing is actually pretty solid overall and the introspection on the part of Red Robin is very interesting to read. The art by Brett Booth is fantastic and highly detailed. I liked his art in Justice League of America and I like it here too. The only problem I really have with the art is the costume designs. When looking at the team on the cover the costumes seem to vary from far too complicated and detailed to plain/generic 90’s Image Comics. It could just be my personal opinion and I could get used to them over time, but that’s just how I feel at first glance.












On a personal level, I have to say that I do not like the ideas of Scott Lobdell. He has a decent writing style and seems to be building at least an interesting story, but he seems to be trying too hard to make change simply for the sake of change. If it’s just me getting snippy about his changes to my favorite team, that’s just my bag to carry, but I just think a more solid “hero” basis as oppose to “troubled teens” would be better for the book overall. I think the idea of having the team work to improve the nature of young metahumans is a fantastic idea, but it would be nice if the core of the team were still trying to live up to a heroic legacy like every incarnation of the team before it. This legacy does exist in the DCnU. The heroes are there. Of course, I’m basing this on the first issue alone. I could be proven wrong. In fact, I hope I am.

This series already has fantastic art and intriguing writing, regardless of my fanboy longings. I am legitimately interesting in seeing where Lobdell is going with this. Booth’s artwork certainly isn’t going to scare me off. This series has potential, but it also has very big shoes to fill and I am willing to give this series a chance to do so.

Now I take a deep breath and remember my motto: Don’t take life too seriously; you’ll never get out of it alive.

By The Chad with 3 comments

Review: Red Hood and the Outlaws #1

First off, let me level set: this is the book I was most excited about this week and one of my top 5 for the new 52. Back when it was announced that Jason Todd was coming back from the dead, I thought it was one of the worst ideas ever. “How are they going to make a former Robin who was voted to be killed interesting?” Simple, make him a Batman who kills the bad guys. He’s got the skills, planning, and intensity of Batman, without the moral compass. Is he a hero or a villain? It’s never quite clear, but it’s great fun to watch. So I was thrilled to find that not only did he not get retconned, but is also leading his own team.

Clearly this book is filling the Outsiders gap in the new 52, but has thankfully (at least so far) stripped down it’s cumbersome cast. We open with Roy Harper in a Middle Eastern prison, where he is quickly rescued by Red Hood. We learn a few interesting things here. Roy is much more on the Jason Todd's side of the moral line than Batman's, as he doesn't hesitate to kill.

Yeah, there's no splitting hairs with an arrow to the throat.

Second, he and Jason have been working together for some time, and Roy’s still referred to as a ‘former

sidekick’. Considering the de-aging of everyone in the new 52, that makes Jason & Roy somewhere between 18-22.

The introduction to Starfire is concise and well done. She’s gorgeous, alien, has god-like powers in comparison to her "teammates", and also has no moral qualms about killing.

Be honest, you're looking at the godlike powers.

Oh, and she’s sleeping with Jason, the 2nd Robin, which could obviously lead to some melodramatic issue about how her former boyfriend is Dick Grayson, the 1st Robin, except we’re told that as a Tamaranean she “doesn’t see humans as much more than sights and smells and have a terrible short attention span about all things Earth.” This leads to a conversation between her and Roy that acknowledges there was some form of the Teen Titans before, but underscores that just because she looks like a supermodel, doesn’t mean she thinks like humans at all. This is one of my favorite themes so far in the new 52, that the alien characters actually act alien. They’re not from here, and often don’t have human emotional hang-ups. Which Starfire quickly proves by sleeping with Roy too.

This takes us to the plot of the first arc as Essence, someone from Jason’s past (who looks like a cross between a WildC.A.T.S. character and Raven) shows up to tell him of the decimation of some ancient order called the All Caste whom apparently caste (pun!) them out some time ago.

Jason, unsurprisingly is not bothered by seeing Roy and Starfire in bed together, leaves to check out the secret All Caste headquarters with the issue closing out as he’s predictably surrounded by the killers.

All in all I think this is a pretty good introduction to the team. We get to see their personalities, and a hint of their moral flexibility. It’s obvious they all have a significant past but this is a fresh take.

Missing however is Jason’s acrobatic gun slinging, one of his coolest traits, his detailed planning (he was trained by Batman), Roy’s sarcastic/humorous nature, and his acrobatic bow slinging. Hopefully these will play out more in the future.

Also, the Red Hood mask has a mouth? This looks so ridiculous and takes away so much of the
hard edge of the character that I sincerely hope it does not last.

Pictured: a helmet with a mouth.

Kenneth Rocafort’s art is a perfect fit for the story. His intricate detail and sharp lines work well to convey that this is a harsher and deadlier world these characters are living in. He also does a great job softening this up only when he draws Starfire, pulling her out of her surroundings and emphasizing that no matter where they are, she’s still an alien princess.

pictured: "softening up" the art.

He also is showing potential in his layouts. He’s clearly taking a page from what’s being done on Batwoman with non standard panel structure. It’s not there quite yet but it’ll be interesting to see where he goes. As mentioned before I think his action sequences are not utilizing the versatility of the characters, but hopefully that’s a function of this intro story and not an ongoing deficiency.

This is a series full of potential that is not quite realized here, but like a lot of the new 52, this may be taking a slow burn to more fully develop great stories and characters. If that is the case, then I think Scott Lobdell is off to a fine start, and I want to see where he goes.

By Kephus with 1 comment

Review: Superboy #1

When I did my review on Green Lantern we got a write in about how happy someone was to see a positive review of a book that the writer was a fan of before the relaunch. Well, this is going to be interesting to see what they think in this case. Partially, because I am a big Superboy fan. Partially because I've been reading Superboy since he had round glasses and lived on Hawaii. Partially because I was really big into Volume 4 with Luthor's niece and the unexplained kid from the future. And also, partially, because this book was #@$%ing rotten.

This most recent version of Superboy starts off very very closely to how that last one did (may he rest in piece). He's a clone of Superman. He has half human DNA (from a source they haven't named yet, but let's guess). And...that's where the similarities end.

He's in a tube raised by a group named N.O.W.H.E.R.E. which sounds like something out of a bad Abbot and Costello skit.

"Where are you keeping Superboy?"

"N.O.W.H.E.R.E."

"Well he's got to be somewhere."

"He is! He's at work."

"Where do you work?"

"N.O.W.H.E.R.E."

"Wait, you're unemployeed?"

And it would go on and on like that until your head explodes.

Apparently, N.O.W.H.E.R.E. is a top secret facility that engineers whatnot. It's not really covered too well. But, if I had to guess, I'd guess that they produce the occasional weapon and mass produce speech balloons. No joke. If there was no proof that Scott Lobdell wrote this I would have guessed a drunken Brian Michael Bendis rubbed his almost empty pen all over this thing. Every time a character thinks or talks it reminded me of a dialogue heavy scene from the old Speed Racer cartoons. Just...babbling. Every single character had seven tons of needless exposition. I mean, don't get me wrong. I'm a reader, I enjoy reading, but do we need all this on every page?

It's not terribly good writing either. It's rushed. It feels like they were told to make sure that all the origin and intro story is done before Teen Titans #1 comes out. Plus, and this may have just been me, but it feels like the writing was on par with a parent trying to sound hip to their kid.

There's terminology in here stolen straight from medical shows. Technical terms being used very carefully. And probably the best usage I've ever seen of someone taking an Intro to Psychology course.

And whenever they use something they feel "the kids" would know, it's not only awkward but it's in bold. See the picture on the left? It's already awkward but the fact that it's bold is like the writer saying, "hey, I know what you kids like." Though, as a former video game retail clerk, I can honestly tell you that NO ONE got Wii Sports for the golf game. You might say, "but E.N., I got Wii Sports for the golf". To which I would tell you to go look in a mirror, you can't see your own reflection. You know why? Because you don't exist.

The art is alright though. R.B.Silva seemed to put a fair amount of work into everything but sometimes it seems a little over the top. It reminds me of a pseudo-realistic rendition of the works of Jhonen Vasquez. There's wires everywhere in the foreground. Needless technological whatnots and dohickeys. And there's even a moment where a helicopter shows up that looks like a relative of Zim's ship from Invader Zim.

Though, to his credit, I did like how some of the characters looked normal. There were some short characters, some chubby characters, pretty characters and flaws ones as well. The lady who does the majority of the talking (which is an impressive feat in this book) has giant glasses. It's a nice change to see characters actually have physical character traits beyond just their hair. I mean, download a bunch of pictures of Lois Lane and Carol Ferris and try to see how many of your friends can guess who's who. But sometimes the character definition goes overboard and ends up being distracting. For example:

Great Hera looks at all that dialogue. But notice something else? Why is that guy there. You know who. That guy. I'm not even going to describe him. You know exactly who I'm talking about. You know why? Because it's distracting and takes away from the panel. He's practically the focal point.

I know this is starting to sound like an attack. But I want to make it clear, I DO want this book to succeed. I love Superboy. I would love this character to grow. And I think that with what the last page led into, this book has some potential. It has the elements it could use to succeed. And, it had Rose Wilson (right) who I am also a big fan of and was surprised to see. This book could be good. And who knows, the second issue could be amazing.

Like I said earlier, this issue seemed rushed so I won't let this speak for the entire series and I'm still giving it a shot. Maybe I'm bias. I've spent years waiting for Superboy to finally find himself and it seemed like after years and some jerk punching through reality itself, he was finally doing that. Too see him hop right back into the tub was a bit of a let down for me. To put it bluntly, this new character...he may be Superboy, but he is definitely not Connor. In fact, I'll close out by letting this panel from the book itself do all the talking for me.

By Electric Nerd with 3 comments