Fantastic Universes

“The Long Payback” – Part Three Writer: Dan Jurgens Artists: Phil Hester and Ande Parks Review by Steve J. Ray High Tech suit versus cybernetic enhancements. Armor against bionics. Batman V Stalker. This issue is chock full of action, thrills and fun, from start to finish. I loved the Batman animated shows from the 90s. The adventures of the original caped crusader, voiced by the incomparable Kevin Conroy will live on forever. At first, I was dubious about a Batman Of The Future being introduced, but I needn’t have worried. The creative talents that made the  Batman Beyond  show were clearly fans of the character. Having an all new Dark Knight, trained and mentored by the original, truly made for some great stories. The same must also be said for the brilliant writers, and artists that continue to bring us the adventures of old Bruce Wayne, and young Terry McGinnis in the comics. Dan Jurgens has earned my respect and thanks, for he has steered these ongoing adven...

Article by Steve J. Ray Dark Nights: Metal  has been one of most fun, and exciting crossovers in recent memory. With the series now more than half done, fans have been asking, “What’s next?” Today that question has been answered, and the answer is “No Justice.” This afternoon we received an extremely exciting press release from DC Comics. Scott Snyder will be teaming with James Tynion IV and Josh Williamson (the writers that brought us the fantastic Batman/Flash crossover “The Button”) and Superstar artist Francis Manapul. The story will be a four issue mini-series released weekly. It brings with it the return of Brainiac, and an alien invasion storyline unlike any we’ve ever seen before. DC’s Press release is presented here in it’s entirety: At the conclusion of writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo’s   DARK NIGHTS: METAL (issue #6 on sale March 14), the bestselling   BATMAN   talent team will shake the DC Universe to its deepest foundations ...

“Fall Of The Batmen” – Conclusion Writer: James Tynion IV Artist: Jesús Merino Review by Steve J. Ray The latest issue of  Detective Comics  is killer! James Tynion IV has given us a terrific, pulse pounding, emotional juggernaut of a comic. The cliffhanger ending of issue  #972  left us in suspense two weeks ago, as to whether Clayface could ever be stopped. After a mellow one page flashback featuring Batman and Red Robin, we’re dragged back, kicking and screaming, into the present. With the horror fest that was the  DC Universe Reb irth ‘s first crossover, “The Night Of The Monster Men”, the citizens of Gotham City were probably hoping they’d seen the last of giant, rampaging behemoths. Yeah… right! Like that was ever gonna happen. After being dropped into a huge vat of animated clay (which the Gotham Knights use to create physical threats, in their Bat version of a “Danger Room”) Clayface absorbed it all, becoming a gigantic Clay-Zilla! ...

Review by Steve J. Ray This episode contains pudding, super speed, an elongated chap, nostalgia, laughs, strange equations and… Goldberg, Goldberg, GOLDBERG! Ahem… sorry about that. Barry Allen may be  behind bars , but you can’t keep a good man down. Yes, this episode is lighter on Flash content than most, but Barry Allen is a force to be reckoned with and still the main focus of the show. Ralph may have taken centre stage this week, but his growth as a hero is still down to the example set by his mentor. The writing this season, in particular the narrative surrounding character consistency, and development, has been superb; Barry has every reason to give up, but he doesn’t, Iris and the rest of team Flash are low, but still fighting the good fight, even the guest villain gets a new/old sidekick… but you may not have seen the episode yet, so I won’t spoil it for you. The Elongated Knight Rises While Ralph tackles the baddies on the streets of Central City,...

Chapter Three – “Not Victory Nor Defeat” Writer: Geoff Johns Artist: Gary Frank Review by Steven Conroy WARNING: This review contains minor spoilers. Following the events of  Doomsday Clock  #1 and 2 (You can read both those reviews by the amazing Steve J. Ray  here  and  here ) Rorschach has made his way into The Batcave and is confronted by the Dark Knight. Meanwhile, Ozymandias must fight to stay alive against The Comedian. The Joker is quickly getting the attention of Marionette and Mime and we are introduced to an old man simply known (to his carers, at least) as Mr. Thunder. Wow. Try doing a quick summary of this month’s issue you are happy with... I dare you. We open with The Comedian v Ozymandias round two and it does not disappoint. The interplay between the two is perfect. The interesting part is that Eddie is aware of how everything played out after his ‘death’. He knows that Adrian followed through on his plan and succeeded,...

Review by Steve J. Ray Barry Allen really is in trouble now! Usually it’s metahumans, super villains, or alien incursions. This time our hero is on trial for murder. The Flash  fought the law, and the law won. When we last saw Barry and the rest of his S.T.A.R. Labs Flash Family at the end of the first half of  season 4 , he was standing over the dead body of Clifford DeVoe, A.K.A. The Thinker. Thanks CW/Sky One, nice cliffhanger…  not ! After the mid-season break we see that the Scarlet Speedster’s fortunes haven’t improved. If anything he’s still in a frying pan, surrounded by radioactive fire! Barry is not only contending with being on trial for murder, a new radioactive meta – dubbed  Fallout  – is loose in Central City, and people are dropping like flies. Trial And Error The Thinker seems to have created the perfect frame up. Leaving Barry with a dead body, the murder weapon, and clear motive. The way DeVoe has manipulated the system seem...