Comics this week

Batman, Inc. #4- Grant Morrison is one of those writers that sometimes bite off more than he can chew. A little like Neil Gaiman, Morrison gives the impression that he just has so many ideas in his head that when put to paper, the execution often feel scattered. That is the case in #4. The issue is all over the place, going from Batman and El Gaucho fighting Sombrero to Batwoman chasing down a villain called Johnny Valentine, to a flashback regarding the original Batwoman, Kathy Kane. How did all 3 stories connect? How did a straightforward fight last issue (which focus strictly on Batman and El Gaucho) turned into this? No idea. And that’s the problem! Too many ideas and not enough time explaining everything. While there is a loose thread that connects the tissue of the various storylines (I think), that's just isn't enough to make sense of anything. Unfortunately, this is a Grant Morrison book so sometimes that happen.

Green Lantern #64- This issue is Part 1 of “The War of the Green Lanterns,” the latest crossover event in DC. Writer Geoff Johns and artist Dough Mahnke step right up and start the whole thing with a bang! Rather surprising for the start of a crossover, Green Lantern #64 picks up where last issue finished. Hal Jordan and the rest of the New Guardians found the Book of the Black with the Guardians’ team of Green Lanterns are on their way to arrest Hal Jordan for going against the Guardians' orders. However it was the scenes of the rogue Guardian Krona that took the cake. In possession of all seven entities, Krona launched his attack on Oa and the Green Lanterns. I loved the idea Geoff Johns had of the entities taking over the Guardians, this is a subplot that might lead to greater things. A Guardian for each color anyone? A tight script and wonderful art by Mahnke make this a brilliant start to the crossover. If this keep up, “The War of the Green Lanterns” might be the best comic event this year.

Green Lantern Corps #58- Part 2 of the “The War of the Green Lanterns,” opened with the backstories of both Kyle Rayner and John Stewart but don’t worry; it’s only 2 pages and then the shit hit the fan! Usually the middle parts of a crossover are the ones that suffered a climb-down in terms of quality but writer Tony Bedard largely avoided the trap because a major development occur this issue. Personally I don’t like the development. I was kind of hoping for a real reason why the Earth GLs would go up against the rest of the corps; this “corruption” thing just isn’t what I hope for. Still Bedard’s writing moved the story along while artist Tyler Kirkham blew me away with the visuals. Look out for the fight scene between John and Kyle. I dare you not to say “Wow” when you see it. The writing wasn’t bad but the art was what really saved this issue and made it an excellent follow-up to Part 1. Bring on Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #8.