Previously, I reviewed Gail Simone’s first volume for the rebooted Batgirl series, The Darkest Reflection, which is a part of DC’s New 52 initiative. In the review, I mentioned my appreciation of Gail Simone’s writing, and how the series was off to a great start, and how I was looking forward to the next volume, which we now know is called Knightfall Descends.
The question at such a point, of course, is whether the second volume can match the first volume, and whether it can exceed expectations.
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Over on the Kirkus Reviews Blog today, I have a post about the three-volume set of graphic novels based on Charlaine Harris’ Grave Sight.
Charlaine Harris is probably best known for her Sookie Stackhouse books, which serve as the foundation for HBO’s popular True Blood television show. But another fan favorite is the Harper Connelly series (four books) that follow title character Harper Connelly and her stepbrother, Tolliver Lang. Harper has the power to find the dead and see their last moments, revealing how they died. She uses that power to eek out a living by sharing the information with the living.
Click here to read more…
With DC’s relaunch of its entire line-up under the “New 52″ umbrella, several Batman-related titles were announced, no less than ten of them! We have the main Batman title, Nightwing, Batgirl, Batman and Robin, Detective Comics, Batman: The Dark Knight, Red Hood and The Outlaws, Batwing, Batwoman and Birds of Prey. That’s one heck of an overdose of everything Batman. Plus the fact that the first twelve issues of most of these titles came under the Court of Owls crossover event, and keeping track of the various appearances and stuff is pretty overwhelming. At least, that’s one of the reasons why I avoided reading anything other than Batman by Scott Snyder, Birds of Prey by Duane Swierczynski and Nightwing by Kyle Higgins until now.
Recently, it was as if there was more and more praise for writer Gail Simone, who is penning Batgirl at the moment. It made me curious. I’ve never had much of an interest in Batgirl, a character little seen in the movies and the various TV shows alike. Duane and Kyle have both featured her quite a bit in their ongoing series, with Batgirl being one of the core members of the current incarnation of the Birds of Prey, so I wondered how she would be written in her own solo series. And how it would all tie to the various crossovers that are ongoing for all Batman-related titles. As I said above, first we had the Court of Owls crossover, and now we have Death of the Family, in which Joker returns to Gotham with a vengeance and an axe to grind.
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Soon, theaters will be playing The Dark Knight Rises (midnight showings tonight in most markets), so with that in mind, I put together a list at the Kirkus Reviews Blog called 5 graphic novels starring Gotham’s protector, 3 of which I believe helped to shape the Nolan trilogy.
From the post:
The Dark Knight Returns – If we look at the Christopher Nolan and Tim Burton Batman flicks as being dark, even harsh, in their portrayal of Batman, we aren’t wrong. A far cry from the campy days of Adam West running around in the cape and cowl, these films have had a mood and tone that at least partially comes from my next pick, Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns (ISBN-10: 1563893428). Set in Batman’s future, Bruce Wayne is fifty-five years old, retired, and Gotham is a very different place without him. Superheroes are all but gone, and crime is mostly unchecked. When Two-Face returns, Wayne puts on the cape and cowl once more, but finds Gotham and the world, unwelcoming to his brand of vigilante justice. The Gotham PD hunt him relentlessly, the American government sees him as a threat to their authority. Worse, Batman alive and well brings The Joker back and he is deadlier than ever.
Please click through the Kirkus Reviews to see the other Batman graphic novel picks!
I have a new post up over on the Kirkus Review site looking at Stephen King’s The Dark Tower-The Gunslinger: The Journey Begins, Graphic Novel from Marvel Comics. The script is by Peter David, a name comic book readers are well accustomed to seeing (The Incredible Hulk, Young Justice). He also wrote one of my favorite Star Trek: The Next Generation novels: Imzadi. The series is illustrated by Sean Phillips (WildC.A.T.S.) and Richard Isanove (Wolverine: Origin), and plotted by Robin Furth (Stephen King’s personal research assistant for The Dark Tower: A Complete Concordance).
Here’s an excerpt:
The story opens with Roland Deschain, the Gunslinger, tracking the man in black across a desert wasteland. He comes across a man who offers news of the man in black along with food, water and shelter for the night. All he asks in return is for The Gunslinger to tell him a tale. Through flashbacks, we see the day Roland’s ka-tet were slaughtered by the Good Man, John Farson. As Farson’s followers are stacking up the dead for a pyre, Roland escapes along with another Gunslinger, Aileen. She is mortally wounded and asks that he bury her in her family crypt back home – in Gilead.
Check out the full article over on the Kirkus Reviews blog.
My next piece on the Kirkus Review Blog is on Elric: The Balance Lost Volume One. Chris Roberson, author of Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love, iZombie, and the new science fiction novel Further: Beyond the Threshold, and illustrator Francesco Biagini, pick up the tale of the 428th Emperor of Melniboné for a comic series from Boom! Studios.
Here’s an excerpt from the piece:
Talk to a fan of the sword and sorcery genre, and it won’t take long for the conversation to turn to Elric, the 428th Emperor of Melniboné. With alabaster skin, and wielding the soul-eating sword Stormbringer, Elric is the Eternal Champion, someone who is chosen to fight for the cosmic Balance. In Moorcock’s stories, Elric is one of many such Champions, who exist in every different version of reality throughout the multiverse. Each Champion must fight for the balance between Law and Chaos, two opposing forces locked in an eternal struggle for dominance. Should either side win, all would be lost.
Check out the full article over on the Kirkus Reviews blog.
