#IReadsYou Review: NOCTERRA #7

NOCTERRA #7
IMAGE COMICS/Best Jacket Press

STORY: Scott Snyder and Tony S. Daniel
PENCILS: Tony S. Daniel
INKS: Sandu Florea and Tony S. Daniel
COLORS: Marcelo Maiolo
LETTERS: Andworld Design
EDITOR: Will Dennis
COVER: Tony S. Daniel with Marcelo Maiolo
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Jason Fabok with Brad Anderson; Dani with Brad Simpson; Tony S. Daniel and Marcelo Maiolo
28pp, Colors, 3.99 U.S. (February 2022)

Rated “M/ Mature”

“Pedal to the Metal” Part One

Nocterra is a horror and science fiction comic book series from writer Scott Snyder and artist Tony S. Daniel.  Published by Image Comics, Nocterra is set on an Earth that has been experiencing an everlasting night, the “Big PM,” since the sky went dark and the world was plunged into an everlasting night over a decade ago.  Inker Sandu Florea, colorist Marcelo Maiolo, and letterer Andworld Design complete the series' creative current team.

In Nocterra, any living organisms left unlit in the dark for more than 10 hours start undergoing a biological transformation.  Soon, the living turn into monstrous versions of themselves, becoming something called a “Shade.”

Valentina “Val” Riggs – call sign “Sundog,” – was in the fifth grade the day the “Big PM” occurred.  Fourteen years later (“14 PM”), Val drives a big rig hauler, a heavily-illuminated 18-wheeler known as the “Sundog Convoy.”  A skilled “ferryman” Val transports people and goods along deadly unlit roads between the few remaining human outposts.  Aboard her rig is Bailey McCray, the rig's “bean counter,” and Emory “Em” Riggs, Val's brother who was cured of the Shade infection.

As Nocterra #7 opens, it is almost “14 PM,” fourteen years after the “Big PM.”  The Sundog leads a convoy of four rigs, including itself.  Their goal is Outpost 31, also known as the “Drive-in.”  They're hoping to get information on Bailey's late grandfather, August McCray, who may have been one of the people who helped bring the darkness, but who also claimed to have a way to bring back the light.

Meanwhile, Blacktop Bill meets some old friends.  Can Val and friends save the world?  And what dirty deals with they have to make to do it?

THE LOWDOWN:  After the sour taste that the Nocterra Blacktop Bill Special left in my imagination, I needed the the first chapter of the main series' second story arc, “Pedal to the Metal,” to bring back the good feelings this series gave me.  It did.

From the beginning of Nocterra, writer Scott Snyder has offered his readers a comic book series that reads like an old-fashioned pulp serial, complete with cliffhanger endings.  Nocterra is a mixed genre treat; sometimes it is like a penny dreadful and other times it is constantly dropping apocalyptic science fiction elements.

Now drawing with an inker (Sandu Florea) and with a new colorist Marcelo Maiolo, artist Tony S. Daniel electric storytelling is still … electric, moving swiftly from panel to panel.  Daniel builds up to an occasional big splash sequence that makes the story explode off the page while hitting the key points of the plot.  It makes for engaging and bracing comic book storytelling.

Nocterra is back.  And here, the dark is still good.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Scott Snyder and Tony S. Daniel will want to sample Nocterra.

A

★★★★+ out of 4 stars

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


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Review: BATMAN & ROBIN Eternal #1

BATMAN & ROBIN ETERNAL No. 1
DC COMICS – @DCComics

[This review originally appeared on Patreon.]

STORY: Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV
SCRIPT: James Tynion IV
PENCILS: Tony Daniel
INKS: Sandu Florea
COLORS: Tomeu Morey
LETTERS: Tom Napolitano
COVER: Tony Daniel and Sandu Florea with Tomeu Morey
VARIANT COVER: Mikel Janin
40pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (December 2015)

Rated “T” for “Teen”

Batman created by Bob Kane with Bill Finger

Batman Eternal was a weekly Batman comic book series that began in 2014 and was produced as part of the year-long celebration of the 75th anniversary of the debut of Batman (in Detective Comics #27: cover dated May 1939).  Although the series was planned to run 60 issues, Batman Eternal lasted 52 issues.

Batman Eternal was enough of hit that DC Comics decided to do it again.  Thus, we get the weekly Batman & Robin Eternal.  Batman Eternal “showrunners,” Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV, have written the story for Batman & Robin Eternal.  Tynion will be the lead scripter, with contributions from a rotating team of writers:  Tim Seeley, Geneveive Valentine, Steve Orlando, Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly and Ed Brisson.  Tony Daniel is the lead artist, with artists Paul Pelletier and Scot Eaton as contributors.

The first issue of Batman & Robin Eternal is scripted by James Tynion IV and drawn by Tony Daniel (pencils) and Sandu Florea (inks).  Tomeu Morey provides colors and Tom Napolitano letters.

Batman & Robin Eternal #1 opens with two glimpses into the past.  Then, the story follows Dick Grayson, current super-spy and former sidekick, across the skyscrapers of Gotham City.  That brings him into contact with Red Hood aka Jason Todd aka his successor as Robin.  Red Robin aka Tim Drake aka the third Robin joins the fun.

Meanwhile, Bluebird aka Harper Row, who was going to be trained by Batman... before he died, finds herself confronting the new robot-Batman.  Second meanwhile, Grayson is back on the mission for the spy agency, Spyral, but things go bad in ways Grayson does not expect.  Something from Batman's past is coming back to haunt every one of those young people who have fought by Batman's side.

After the 52 inconsistent and red herring-filled issues of Batman Eternal, I am not ready to invest in another weekly Batman comic book.  On the other hand, I am really digging the fantastic comic book artist that Tony Daniel has become over the last decade, especially the last five years.  Sandu Florea is probably the perfect inker for Daniel, and Tomeu Morey's colors do wonders for both the storytelling and the visual appeal of the Daniel/Florea team.

And I must admit that I am intrigued by the second half of this story (because I certainly wasn't feeling the first half).  Plus, I am a sucker for Batman comic books, and it takes extra effort to avoid trying each new one.

For the time being, I plan to keep following Batman & Robin Eternal.

B+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

I Reads You Review: DEATHSTROKE #1

DEATHSTROKE #1 (2014)
DC COMICS – @DCComics

WRITER/PENCILS: Tony S. Daniel
INKS: Sandu Florea
COLORS: Tomeu Morey
LETTERS: Rob Leigh
COVER: Tony S. Daniel and Sandu Florea with Tomeu Morey
VARIANT COVERS: Andrea Sorrentino; Kevin O'Neill
32pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (December 2014)

Rated “T+” (Teen Plus)

Deathstroke created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez

Deathstroke is a DC Comics character that first appeared in New Teen Titans #2 (cover date December 1980).  Created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, Deathstroke was originally introduced as a character named “The Terminator.”  He was Slade Wilson, a mercenary who was completing the terms of a contract undertaken by his son, Ravager, to kill or capture the Teen Titans.  The Terminator became Deathstroke the Terminator and eventually just Deathstroke, an assassin, mercenary, and anti-hero.

With the re-launch of DC Comics’ superhero line, known as “The New 52,” Deathstroke received his second ongoing series, which ran for 20 issues.  In October of last year (December 2014 cover date), DC Comics debuted a new Deathstroke ongoing series.  It is written and pencilled by Tony S. Daniel, inked by Sandu Florea, colored by Tomeu Morey, and lettered by Rob Leigh.

Deathstroke #1 (“Gods of War”) opens with Deathstroke heading to Russia to complete a contract kill.  He meets his Russian contact, Angelica, for sex before going on a killing spree of associates of his target, a man called “Possum.”  But it's all a set-up.

I thought that The Punisher by Garth Ennis was the comic book with the most extreme depictions of violence ever published by one of the big two comic book companies – that I read, at least.  Deathstroke's pretty art, from pencils to compositions and from design to colors, is a flashy and explosive celebration of graphic violence in graphical storytelling.  I am not offended; I want more.

I am glad that I found a second printing of Deathstroke #1.  It seems like something I want to read, and my mind seems to love the eye-candy ferocity of the story.

[This comic book includes a preview of the Vertigo comic book series, Suiciders, from writer-artist, Lee Bermejo.]

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

I Reads You Review: DETECTIVE COMICS Volume One: Faces of Death

BATMAN – DETECTIVE COMICS VOLUME ONE: FACES OF DEATH
DC COMICS – @DCComics

STORY/PENCILS: Tony S. Daniel
INKS: Ryan Winn, Sandu Florea, and Rob Hunter
COLORS: Tomeu Morey
LETTERS: Jared K. Fletcher
COVER: Tony S. Daniel and Ryan Winn with Tomeu Morey
ADDITIONAL ART: Szymon Kudranski
ISBN:  978-1-4012-3466-9; hardcover
176pp, Color, $22.99 U.S., $25.99 CAN (2012)

Batman created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger

When The New 52 brought forth “new” Batman comic book series, I found myself crazy-in-love with Detective Comics #1, produced by writer-artist, Tony S. Daniel.  In fact, I preferred Detective Comics to Batman #1 by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo.  I only read the first two issues of Daniel's Detective Comics, but I thought that the first issue reminded me of the first “book” of Frank Miller's Batman: The Dark Knight Returns more than any comic book I had read in a long time.

I bought the first hardcover collection of The New 52 Detective Comics.  Sadly, it took me two-and-half-years to get around to reading it.  In that time, Snyder and Capullo's Batman became one of the bestselling comic book series in North America, and a favorite of mine.  On the other hand, Daniel departed Detective Comics after issue #12.

Batman – Detective Comics Volume One: Faces of Death collects Detective Comics #1 to 7, which comprises two story arcs.  Detective Comics begins with Batman in the midst of a dangerous mission.  He has to find The Joker and also discover what is behind the grisly murders of several of the Joker's acquaintances.  Eventually, Batman battles The Dollmaker, a killer who removes the faces of his victims and even some of their organs.  He uses them as macabre building materials to create new people.  The Dollmaker is also seeking revenge against Commissioner Jim Gordon.

The second story arc centers on The Penguin's off-shore gambling palace, The Iceberg Casino.  The casino is also a front for Penguin's money-laundering operation.  The story also involves Gotham City Mayor Hady's re-election campaign; the mayor's election-year war on Batman; reporter and Bruce Wayne love-interest, Charlotte Rivers; Rivers' sister, Jill; and a cheap hood named Jack Houston, whose ability to change his face has earned him the name “Snakeskin.”

Having finally finished the Faces of Death collection, I have to say that, three years later, “The Dollmaker” arc still thrills me.  I think it is a definite heir to Frank Miller's seminal Batman work from the mid-1980s.  Daniel's Batman is a combination penny dreadful and Saturday matinee thriller; each chapter ends in either a cliffhanger or with a shocking reveal.  Batman fighting in the darkest corners of Gotham, with the threat of death hanging over several people, but especially over him.  Several times, I actually believed that Batman was going to be killed.  I knew better, of course.  Batman isn't going to die-as-in-stay-dead, but still, those stories...

“The Iceberg Casino” arc is entertaining, but is an average to above-average Batman story arc.  It is sort of a Batman as action movie/crime thriller.  Of course, there are some cliffhanger-styled thrills int this story, but this is nothing particularly special.

I think Tony Daniel was unable to maintain the promise of his opening Detective Comics story arc.  In Batman, Snyder's story and Capullo's art create a gripping narrative with striking graphics, one issue after another.  Daniel with inker Ryan Winn also created a graphic narrative full of high-drama and edgy visuals.  Visually, Daniel and Winn offered a Batman that was a bird of prey, and the art had a sense of movement so that Batman always seemed to be racing across a dark, but alluring landscape.

As the second story arc advanced, Daniel's art took on a Neal Adams-quality that moves, but lacks something... perhaps, the edginess it had in “The Dollmaker” arc.  I first discovered Tony Daniel's work back in the mid to late 1990s, on his Image Comics series, The Tenth.  The early issues of that series had the characteristics of a raw, but promising talent.  With Marlo Alquiza inking his pencil art, Daniel delivered art that grabbed the reader with its horror-themed creatures and characters.  After Alquiza stopped inking The Tenth, what was raw, but promising became unfocused and undisciplined.

I'll remember Tony Daniel's New 52 launch of Detective Comics for the promise the early issues offered, with joy, but also with some disappointment.  That promise plus 11 pages of preliminary art, thumbnails, sketches, and pencils have encouraged me to give Batman – Detective Comics Volume One: Faces of Death a high grade.  By the way, Daniel is now working on another relaunch of the DC Comics' character, Deathstroke.

A-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

Albert Avilla Reviews: Justice League #14

Justice League # 14
DC Comics

Reviewed by Albert Avilla

Writer: Geoff Johns
Pencils: Tony S. Daniel
Inks: Matt Banning & Sandu Florea

The Secret of the Cheetah Chapter Two (Spoilers!)
Action from stem to stern: they earned my money. Mr. Johns gave me two good stories for the price of one; a good deal considering my finances.

Super Cheetah and Cheetah are wrecking things until the San, Hara, blows her horn. Cyborg keeps the sonics going while the San cure him. Wonder Woman, Flash, and Aquaman go after the Cheetah. Cheetah is a bad chick. It takes a good plan by the three of them to take her out. She's fast enough to slice up the Flash. Then we get back to the girl-on-girl action. During the fight, we get the origin of the Cheetah. Wonder Woman dumps the kitty in the drink where Aquaman and a school of piranha take her out. Once again solid teamwork saves the day. Then, we find out that it was a part of some mysterious character's plan to get Cheetah locked up in Belle Reve.

Now to some boy-on-girl action; no sir, this story is not just about the violent action. Superman takes Wonder Woman on a date to Smallville. The story ends with another kiss between two of the most powerful heroes. Wonder Woman even does the little one foot in the air thing. Why is Batman watching? I'm glad we can see where his hands are. We not only get the good old violence, but we also get a dose of the soap opera. Give Daniel his props; The splash page with Aquaman and Cheetah is beautiful.

Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Gary Frank

Shazam Chapter 7
What! Fourteen more pages for the price of admission. Yes, I counted. This basically develops Black Adam's character. I guess, Mr. Johns didn't want to leave us in the dark about how big of an obnoxious jerk Black Adam is. Shazam is still on his adolescent joyride. Black Adam finds his first ally, the sin Sloth. This backup story is on par with the main story.

I rate Justice League # 14 Buy Your Own Copy. #2 (of 5) on the Al-O-Meter Ranking.

The New 52 Review: DETECTIVE COMICS #2

DETECTIVE COMICS #2
DC COMICS

WRITER: Tony Salvador Daniel
PENCILS: Tony Salvador Daniel
INKS: Ryan Winn and Sandu Florea
COLORIST: Tomeu Morey
LETTERS: Jared K. Fletcher
COVER: Tony Salvador Daniel, Ryan Winn, and Tomeu Morey
32pp, Color, $2.99

The first issue of Detective Comics debuted with a March 1937 cover date, and two years later, the 27th issue (cover date May 1939) featured the debut of Batman/Bruce Wayne. Detective Comics would become the “DC” in DC Comics. In fact, DC Comics recently re-launched their superhero comic book line, “The New 52,” and that included a start-over for Detective Comics.

Detective Comics #2 (“Playtime’s Over”) opens with a meeting between Bruce Wayne and fellow CEO, Hugh Marder, before Bruce moves on to some playtime TV news vixen, Charlotte Rivers. Batman’s mind, however, is on the troubles at Arkham Asylum, particularly because someone released The Joker. Batman will get some answers but more questions when he runs into the Dollmaker and his motley gruesome crew.

After the talent and intensity writer/artist Tony Daniel showed in Detective Comics #1, I wondered if he could maintain that for a sustained period. There is only a slight letdown from #1 to #2, which is probably due to the fact that this issue’s hero/villain confrontation isn’t quite as powerful as the one between Batman and Joker in the first issue. Still, Detective Comics #2 is no slouch, as Daniel uses superhero conventions to write a story that is more of a dark crime thriller and horror story – think Chris Nolan’s Batman meets the Saw film franchise.

I still say that Daniel’s Detective Comics is the closest anyone has come to replicating the feel and tone of Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns and Batman: Year One. With a second issue down, Tony S. Daniel’s Detective Comics remains a winner.

A-