Batman: Shadow War Overview

 What would happen if M. Night Shyamalan made a comic 

First of all, I would like to explain my point of view. I was following all the titles involved here, I genuinely loved Robin, I thought Batman was not amazing but good and Deathstroke was ok if not good too. Williamson hyped this on twitter as a Batman vs Deathstroke event and I was all in for that, Batman inc. vs the society of Super Villains with Slade as the leader? Please, inject this on my veins. And then this came out. What a waste. 

First of all, this isn't really a war, it doesn't feel like one. Batman: War of Jokes and Riddles is a war. This is a quick, unespired and lazy story. Shadow Hunt would be a better name, but I guess the word war means more sales. 

The original premise is completely ruined by an unnecessary and lazy plot twist. Imagine a similar story but with Deathstroke really killing Ra's and Batman, Robin and Talia going after him. But then a actual war happens, not just the League attacking and huting Slade, a war, that lasts for months. But enough talking about what this could have been, let's talk about what it is. 

Shadow War makes poor use of it's characters. Only Talia and Brion feel like real characters(but not good ones), the rest is just people to be put on covers to sell. 

The new character, Angel Breaker, is a waste of time. She's there in the hopes of making some easy money for the writer if one day they pick her up for something else. She kills a character that already existed for years, Deadline, to show she's serious and thats it. About Deadline, did Williamson read the previous Deathstroke book? Why does he likes Slade now? What about his hand? Anyway. Also, about Slade, just like in Deathstroke Inc he continues to be just a punching bag, and an empty one. He's not a character, he's a plot device. On top of that, he's super out of character. According to Superman himself, Slade is the world's best tactician, but here, he's show as just an idiot with a sword(since that's easier to write). Batman almost does nothing here too, he has a good reunion with Damian but most of the dialogue with the two is insanely forced. Damian almost has a good conclusion about his story with Respawn but then Respawn dies to move the plot. Yes, in 2022 a character gets friged to motivate others. Good job! And we have Geo-force... The character that dies for real here is him. Character assassinated for an unnecessary plot twist. 

The art is just ok if not bad at some points.  Some characters like Respawn can be seen out of model and others with clothes that they should not be using(like, what was that cape with hood Slade uses? Did the artist confused him with the impostor Deathstroke?) 

How it all ends is ridiculous, characters getting defeated in contrived ways that should not be possible. Slade dies again, but this time he needs the Lazarus pit to come back? Did Williamson also not read his own Deathstroke series? This is also supposed to lead in to Dark Crisis but it does a poor job at that too, the connection to Dark crisis comes in only one page at the end that just raises questions which answers keep flip flopping. 

There is also a short story that breaks continuity and makes it so that Slade fought Batman first, therefore, impling he's a Batman related character. And that's super pointless, since after that he's put again as a Titans related character in Dark Crisis. What I'm trying to say is that most of the stuff here has no reason to exist. It has no vision, no purpose, no planning, no consistency. 

The tie ins are also pointless, making everything feel like a joke even. 

This is nothing but another soulless crossover.

Deathstroke Inc. #14 Review

  

His word is a bond 

Year One - Part 5 

Writer: Ed Brisson 
Artist: Dexter Soy

Colorist: Veronica Gandini

Letterer: Steve Wands

Editor: Paul Abernathy
Cover: Mikel Janin 

It's hard for me to talk about this one. Great action, great art and once again all the callbacks to classic Deathstroke are a win. But... Turns out this isn't only how Slade entered the mercenary world, but also how he learned the value of strategy, of planning his moves. And I don't see the point of that, he was in the army, knowing the value of prep time is something he should already know. There is also a plot twist here that was easy to see coming, but it's clear that the comic knew this and this doesn't matter that much. However, something that can be an issue is a certain sense of parts of this arc being unnecessary.  This could be a 4 part arc easily. Not bad, but the weakest issue of this storyline so far. 

DC vs. Vampires: All-Out War #4 Review

 

Midnighter vs Prometheus? Hell yeah! 

All-out war, Part 4

Writer: Matthew Rosenberg and Alex Paknadel
Artist: Pasquale Qualano

Colorist: Nicola Righi

Letterer: Troy Peteri

Editor: Ben Abernathy
Cover: Alan Quah

Another great issue, once again I must point out the consistency in pretty much everything. The humor continues to be spot on, I think it is safe to affirm that the jokes are the highlight of this series.  Alongside with the plot that just moves at the right pace. And last but not least, the action. That fight between Midnighter and Prometheus... Now that's why I read comics. And that also serves to encapsulate everything this series gets right. This is a short one since I'm late and probably everyone already gave this a read, regardless of that, another recommendation.

Dark Crisis #5 Review

 

So... (almost) nothing happened 

Together

Writer: Joshua Williamson
Artist: Daniel Sampere

Colorist: Alejandro Sánchez

Letterer: Tom Napolitano

Editor: Paul Kamisky
Cover: Daniel Sampere and Alejandro Sánchez 

So far this series felt more like a regular Justice League story, not a Crisis, after the last issue it seemed that this would change. Not the case unfortunately. The scale of the battles feels small and rushed. This is supposed to be about legacy but all we get is some cheap fanservice. It lacks a real argument about legacy heroes, instead it just goes "hey, look, the young heroes look cool".  Also, this issue also was hyped as the return of the Justice League, which is horrible for a story about legacy, in my opinion. Some of this event is feeling like an Walking Dead ep, something insane happens at the end, to hook you up for the next ep, but then, nothing happens, people just talk and in the end another crazy thing happens. Last issued ended with the return of the infinite earths, today's issue should open with the insanity something like this should bring but we get stuff that should be at the begging of a story like this, like heroes being recruted. And again, nothing original. The return of the infinite earths? We got that years ago in another sequel for crisis on infinite earths, infinite crisis. Again, the art is amazing and at least the plot is rolling but it feels so empty. What is the point of this besides events with crisis on the name making easy money?

Deathstroke Inc. #13 Review

 

The dead walk again

Year One - Part 4 

Writer: Ed Brisson 
Artist: Dexter Soy

Colorist: Veronica Gandini

Letterer: Steve Wands

Editor: Paul Abernathy
Cover: Mikel Janin 

I guess is that part of the movie, oops, I mean comic, where the story slows down, we get some comedic relief and the characters take a breath. Except Slade does not feels like doing that. Anyway, the most interesting thing here is how the first pages mirror Part 1, I believe this is supposed to say that Slade died after the experiment, in a symbolic way. Or literal. Again, good stuff, love seeing Wintergreen and Slade together. The drama with Adeline works well too and the artwork, as always, great. So of course, I must continue to recommend this series. 

DC vs. Vampires: All-Out War #3 Review

 

R.I.P. school bus

All-out war, Part 3

Writer: Matthew Rosenberg and Alex Paknadel
Artist: Pasquale Qualano

Colorist: Nicola Righi

Letterer: Troy Peteri

Editor: Ben Abernathy
Cover: Alan Quah

I'm definitely happy with this series, today's issue continues with the consistency and tone you can expect. The humor continues to work really well(jokes about Florida are always welcome) and the plot continues to progress nicely. That's the key word, continues, the people behind this comic are definitely having fun and putting that energy into their work. One thing I must point, and I'm happy for it, is that Deathstroke acts like a strategist here. This is pretty much the only comic currently where the character acts like himself. And of course, the rest of the cast is nothing short of fun to see, how Batwoman was used is a highlight for instance. As always the artwork is great too, with one splash page in particular with most of the main cast just killing vampires and looking cool while doing it. It looks good, the plot just keeps going at the right pace, no character feels off, solid recommendation. 

Dark Crisis #4 Review

 

Lex Luthor vs. Deathstroke but it's the abridged version

Crossovers

Writer: Joshua Williamson
Artist: Daniel Sampere

Colorist: Alejandro Sánchez

Letterer: Tom Napolitano

Editor: Paul Kamisky
Cover: Daniel Sampere and Alejandro Sánchez 

Alright, now I get why some people where saying this should not be a crisis. 

Not a bad issue by any means, it gets the job done, but the scope of the action feels small, especially compared to previous crisis. This feels more like a prelude to a crisis event. I'm confident that the next issue will be better but so far it's just ok. The art as always is nothing short of amazing. If I had to criticize something, once again, it would be the use of Deathstroke. And I was kind of right about it? Luthor did kick Slade's ass, Deathstroke lost every  fight he was in, I can't buy this guy as a big deal. This series always shows Slade as a pathetic loser and then talks about how he's a big threat, there's a disconnect. But whatever, he's just a puppet for the real villain. Anyway, it's just alright.