BATMAN: UNIVERSE by Brian Michael Bendis (Author), Nick Derington (Illustrator)

Published in 2020 by DC Comics.

Synopsis

Riddler has stolen a Faberge Egg from the local museum. It looks like it's a throwback caper - the kind of thing Batman has been dealing with since the Adam West TV show days.

But, something is off about the case from the beginning. Riddler's riddle is just basic. Alfred calls it "so disappointing." Batman determines that Riddler was "being used" to pull of this crime and now he's got two mysteries to solve - find the egg and find out what's going on with The Riddler...

My Review

I really enjoyed this graphic novel. It literally went all over the place in both space and time. Batman interacts with a number of fellow supers - both heroes and villains. Their interactions are often funny and show good insight to their characters. It's a good story and a lot of fun. Plus, the art is very clear and easy to follow.

I rate this graphic novel 5 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: Batman: Universe. 

BATMAN & ROBIN: BATMAN REBORN by Grant Morrison (Author), Frank Quitely (Illustrator), Philip Tan (Illustrator)

Published by DC Comics in 2011.

Goodreads Choice Award nominee.

Synopsis

Batman is dead. Nightwing (Dick Grayson) has returned to take over the role of Batman and mentoring the latest Robin, Damian Wayne. With the help of Alfred, Grayson is getting into the mindset of Batman and they are trying to gel into a team.

But, a crime wave sweeps the city in the form of new villains. While Robing and this new version of Batman struggle to counter the crime wave, Red Hood (former Robin Jason Todd) returns to Gotham to fight crime in his own over-the-top super-violent style. Red Hood has picked up a new vigilante sidekick, Scarlet, who is also a mutilated victim of the criminals Batman and Robin are hunting.

My Review

Batman Reborn is a victim of a couple gigantic missed opportunities.

Missed opportunity number one: an in-depth look at why Nightwing is taking over as Batman rather than just being Nightwing. If nothing else, it's a chance to restate the symbolic importance Batman has in Gotham.

Missed opportunity number two (and the bigger one by far): There are scenes with three Robins and a Robin stand-in. They are all interacting and somehow failing to talk about what they all have in common - being the most famous sidekick in comic history.

Red Hood's new outfit.

Red Hood's outfit was pretty nifty, with the exception of his helmet / face mask. I seriously thought that he was a new character (this graphic novel is full of them) called Red Pill when I saw him. Then I looked up the publication date and realized that "red pilled" was too new of a term  to be used in this book. To be fair to me, Red Hood is pretty danged red pilled. 

Anyway, Red Hood's helmet / face mask looks like the top half of a cold capsule. It makes no sense if you imagine someone's head actually fitting inside of this long narrow tube - unless Red Hood has the widest shoulders in the world and the helmet / mask just looks tiny in comparison (I'm talking Bane level of shoulders.)

What Red Hood's
headgear reminds me of.

The worst thing for me was that the graphic novel revels in being grotesque. Rather than having a mystery for Batman to solve, it deals in grime, grit, gruesome acts, with displays gratuitous and graphic violence. Rather than make a cohesive story line, the plan seems to be to have yet another unique character come to Gotham and commit more insane violence. 

Plus, the horrific act of violence committed by Professor Pyg is literally the same thing done by Joker in the first Michael Keaton Batman movie. No spoliers, but re-watch the movie and read the graphic novel and you will see it. Just me, but if you are going to have someone commit a series of grotesque atrocities, at least make them original grotesque atrocities. 

Note: I liked Damian Wayne in this one. Usually, I don't. 

I rate this graphic novel a generous 2 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: Batman and Robin: Batman Reborn. 

SUPERMAN: AMERICAN ALIEN by Max Landis (Author), Francis Manapul (Artist), Jock (Artist), Jae Lee (Artist), Joelle Jones (Artist), Tommy Lee Edwards (Artist), Matthew Clark (Artist), Nick Dragotta (Artist), Jonathan Case (Artist)

Published by DC Comics in 2016.

Will Eisner Award Nomination – Best Writer

Synopsis

A team of different artists worked with writer Max Landis to come up with a different kind of Superman origin story in Superman: American Alien. It takes a few liberties with the traditional story and really focuses on Clark Kent and how he transitions from Smallville to Metropolis. 

Each story has a slightly different look and tells of an episode in his development, beginning with an elementary school aged Clark discovering that he can fly (but he cannot control it) and ending with Superman sporting an early version of the red trunks outfit confronting Lobo (Lobo was sent to get someone, but was pretty sloppily destroying chunks of Metropolis while doing so.)

The first draft of a
Superman outfit

My Review

Overall, I enjoyed this graphic novel. I didn't particularly enjoy the second story and the Lobo chapter for the same reason - they were disjointed and kind of hard to follow because they were trying to make the action go fast.

On the other hand, the story where young Clark Kent gets confused for young Bruce Wayne at a yacht party starts out weakly, but turns out very strong.

This story goes out of its way to get at the humanity of the man from Krypton. If you liked James Gunn's Superman movie, you will like this graphic novel.

I rate this graphic novel 4 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: Superman: American Alien. 

BATMAN: DARK AGE by Mark Russell (Author), Michael Allred (Illustrator), Laura Allred (Illustrator)

Published in 2025 by DC Comics.

SYNOPSIS

Batman: Dark Age is a sequel of sorts to the award-nominated graphic novel Superman: Spage Age. I say of sorts because Superman: Space Age featured a multiverse problem and how a Superman in one multiverse dealt with it. I do believe that this universe is the universe of the second Superman in the original graphic novel. 

This graphic novel is told as the recollections on an elderly Bruce Wayne who is in the memory unit of an old age home.

It starts with a fairly typical Batman origin story, except that Bruce Wayne is not present when his parents die. Bruce Wayne grows up as an arrogant rich kid who ends up in jail. He is released on the condition that he joins the military during the Vietnam War. He joins an elite military unit led by colonel Ra's Al Ghul who teaches them the tactics of stealth warfare.

When Bruce Wayne returns, he finds a Gotham City ravaged by a drug epidemic and he decides to figure out what is going on...

MY REVIEW

This was a pretty intricate story and I appreciate the world building that went into it, but it simply lacked the drama and tension of Superman: Space Age. It was interesting, especially the origin story of Joker, but I will just rate this graphic novel 3 stars out of 5. 

This graphic novel can be found on Amazon.com here: Batman: Dark Age.

FREEDOM FIGHTERS: RISE of a NATION (graphic novel) by Robert Venditti (Author), Eddy Barrows (Illustrator)

Published in 2020 by DC Comics.

SYNOPSIS

Freedom Fighters takes place on Earth X - the part of the DC multiverse where the Nazis won World War II. In this case, Superman landed in 1930s Czechoslovakia and became part of the Nazi military machine. 

Not much can stand up to the might of Superman, so the Allies fell.

In the early 1960s the last bit of American resistance died when the last American superheroes were captured and later executed on live television. When Americans stop believing in freedom, Uncle Sam disappears from Earth and goes to a netherworld called The Heartland - the extradimensional realm of ideas.

The Nazis move their headquarters to the United States and use their genetically modified squad of SS men to terrorize the population. These new SS men have all taken an injection that shortens their lives but makes them into clones of the original Plasticman. They are know as PlaSSticmen. 

But, a new generation of superheroes is determined to reignite the spirit of freedom by starting a new resistance movement to push the Nazis out of America and eventually liberate the planet...

My Review

This graphic novel seems like a great idea, but the actual graphic novel leaves so many logic holes that it doesn't even make sense following its own comic book rules.

****Warning - lots and lots of spoilers.

The whole concept of Uncle Sam just fading away like a Star Wars force ghost only to return later has its own internal logic problems. He fades away on the night of the executions because the ENTIRE population of America loses its faith in the spirit of freedom. It has to be that the entire population 100% loses its faith because long after he has faded away he is stirred back to life by the belief of just a few people, much like Tinker Bell. 

Why did he ever disappear? He is powered by the people's belief in an American ideal. They can believe in these ideals even while they are under military occupation by a foreign power.

When Uncle Sam is awakened he laments that his friends have all died and been buried like he was. They are a lion (England), a bear (Russia), a fighting bull (Spain), a beaver (Canada), and so on.

Why are they all animals and if they are all animals, why isn't Uncle Sam an eagle, or at least be able to take the shape of an eagle? After all, the UK also has a human representation - John Bull.

Also, the artist's drawing of a fighting bull makes it clear that he has never laid eyes on a fighting bull. It looks more like a horse with elephant tusks coming from its head rather than the truly fierce-looking fighting bull.

Where is there no German character to take its place among Uncle Sam and the Russian bear and the Canadian beaver? Is this living avatar of a country's spirit only a thing that the Allies get? If that is the case, why would Spain have a fighting bull in this graveyard? After all, Spain was a nominal ally of the Axis powers during World War II (Spain stayed neutral because they were so weak after the Spanish Civil War that put the fascists in power that Hitler figured the Allies would invade Spain and use Spain to invade the rest of Europe. Hitler told them to lay low and join the Axis powers later.)

Why do all of the PlaSSticmen speak with a German accent? They are supposed to be American volunteers that turn into physical clones of the original Plasticman - why would they suddenly become Germans?

Why would the Nazis move their headquarters to the United States? They were turning Germany into a 1,000 year Reich to dominate the world from GERMANY. That was pretty much the point of starting World War II. 

*****End spoilers

I really was expecting a lot more from this graphic novel. The same writer wrote the Superman '78 series and I liked it quite a bit.

I rate this graphic novel 2 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: Freedom Fighters: Rise of a Nation.

STAR TREK / LEGION of SUPER-HEROES by by Chris Roberson (Author), Jeffrey Moy (Artist)

Published in 2013 by IDW Publishing.

Synopsis

In one universe, a team from the DC Comic's Legion of Super-Heroes are travelling through time (as they do), returning from another successful mission.

In another universe, the crew of the Enterprise NCC-1701 is safely in spacedock above Earth, looking to get in a little maintenance and shore leave. The bridge crew is beaming down to San Francisco together.

Suddenly, a space/time event happens (as it does from time to time on Star Trek) and the two groups find themselves in a different universe where Earth is the home planet for an evil galactic empire with a familiar face as its leader.

Brainiac 5 and Spock meet and come up with the science to make things right - but it will require a lot of luck and the kind of derring-do that a team of superheroes and Star Fleet officers just might be able to pull off...

My Review

Star Trek / Legion of Superheroes was a fun kind of throw away story. I didn't get the inside jokes and comments from the DC Comics side of things because I was, until I read this graphic novel, completely unaware of the Legion of Super-Heroes. I am sure I had seen their name before, but I figured they were just a repackaging of other, more well-known superheroes into yet another combination with a new name. 

I was kind of surprised that Star Trek let their first team of characters be included in a graphic novel that included less well-known characters. Let's face it, Kirk, Spock, and McCoy have been the face of Star Trek for 60 years. In their franchise, they have to be the equivalent to at least an appearance by Batman, Superman, or Wonder Woman. Maybe even Flash or Green Lantern. 

Still, it was an okay read. Not amazing, not bad.

I rate this graphic novel 3 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: STAR TREK / LEGION of SUPER-HEROES by by Chris Roberson (Author), Jeffrey Moy (Artist)

BATMAN: THE CULT (graphic novel) by Jim Starlin (Author), Bernie Wrightson (Illustrator)

Originally published in 1988 by DC Comics. 
Republished in 2024 by DC Comics.

Synopsis

The homeless in Gotham are disapearing and Batman investigates in Batman: The Cult. As he moves into the sewers, he is taken captive by a mysterious man named Deacon Blackfire, a a man who was operating on the surface with a ministry designed to help the homeless and downtrodden in Gotham's worse neighborhoods.

Of course, that was a cover. It turns out that Blackfire is an ancient man who has lived in the shadows in an around Gotham for centuries.  He is powerfully charismatic. When combined with traditional brainwashing techniques, even the strongest of personalities break and fall under his sway. He has an army of the city's forgotten people eager to inflict their version of justice on Gotham City, including Batman himself!

As the city's leaders fall prey to vicious attacks it is up to Alfred and Robin to retrace Batman's steps, save Batman, and save the city...

My Review

I've read some unispired graphic novels this summer (summertime is graphic novel time for DWD's Reviews), but I found this one to be a pretty tight story that worked. It gets off to a befuddled start, but once it gets going it's well worth reading. 

Bonus: the modification of the Batmobile into a monster truck was a lot of fun - and it made sense!

I rate this graphic novel 5 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: Batman: The Cult. 

SUPERMAN: SPACE AGE by by Mark Russell (Author), Michael Allred (Illustrator)

Published in 2023 by DC Comics.

2023 Eisner Nominee - Best Limited Series

2023 Eisner Nominee - Best Writer, Mark Russell

Synopsis

Superman: Space Age tells a slightly different Superman story. We join a late teen Superman helping his father on the farm in Smallville, Kansas in November of 1963. His father opens up about his rough experiences in World War II and talks to Clark about what a hero is. 

That same day, Kennedy is assassinated and Soviet-U.S. tensions climb so high that there is real fear that a nuclear war may start. Clark Kent takes to the air and flies to the Arctic in his overalls and work shirt to try to prevent World War III. But, his enthusiasm and inexperience nearly cause the war he is trying to prevent. Luckily, he is shot down by a pilot named Hal Jordan.

Clark Kent awakens to find the Fortress of Solitude.

This book tracks Superman from 1963 to 1985. As time goes on we add Bruce Wayne, Lex Luthor, Wonder Woman, and the rest of the Justice League. We get a lot of Lois Lane as she demonstrates heroism in a non-superhero way. 

News events that we are all familiar with come into the story, such as the Civil Rights movement. But, that all changes when Lex Luthor gets a couple of nuclear weapons and actually uses them...

Nice advice from Mr. Kent

My Review

There are a lot of clever things done in this graphic novel. The Batman/Bruce Wayne setup is very well done, with Bruce Wayne and Batman actually seemingly being on different wavelengths throughout the book (for example, Bruce Wayne funds the Hall of Justice but Batman stomps out of the group for a while.)

The solution to the major crisis of the book (surprisingly, it is not Lex Luthor's foray into nuclear weapons) is quite clever and I did not see it coming until the very end. It was a very different way for Superman to be a hero and save the world.

Nitpicking note: The book starts with Clark Kent and his father baling hay in Kansas in NOVEMBER. As a person who has put up hay (much like they were doing in the graphic novel) in Indiana, I can guarantee you that no one is baling hay in the midwest in November. It's always done in the summer and always seems to happen on the hottest day you can imagine. The heat has nothing to do with it, it's just the bad luck of everyone that is putting up hay. The only time I ever had heat stroke-type of event was when I was putting up hay on what had to be the hottest day of the year when I was in high school. It wasn't full blown heat stroke, but I was well on my way.

I rate this graphic novel 4 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: Superman: Space Age

Nice quotes from the book: 

"As Americans we talk about being American as if we all agree on what that means. But the truth is that some judge truth and justice by how well they support the American Way while others judge the American Way by how well it stands up for truth and justice."

"The people who do the most good in this world are not the strongest, the smartest, the most prepared, but simply those who show up."

FORT SOLITUDE (DC COMICS: SECRET HERO SOCIETY #2) by Derek Fridolfs and Dustin Nguyen

Published in 2017 by Scholastic

Synopsis

The DC Comics Secret Hero Society series s a re-imagining of the DC universe with a comic twist. 

The first book in this series featured a Hogwarts-type school where only children with special talents are invited. Young Bruce Wayne suspects that there is more going on in the school than meets the eye and his new friends Clark Kent and Diana Prince join him to investigate.

Fort Solitude is book 2 in the series. The trio are invited to a special summer camp. They notice that this camp has an off vibe. Then, campers start to disappear. And, there are constant warnings about a scarecrow that stalks the woods at night.

The trio adds in a kid that runs really, really fast, a kid that wins every target shooting contest, and a kid with robotic implants - Flash, Green Arrow, and Cyborg. Clark also finds a journal with detailed notes from a girl that attended a previous session of this same summer camp - Lois Lane.

Using the clues from Lois' notebook, the campers investigate the camp and work together to figure out what is going on.

My Review

This was a fun read, but it's basically the same plot as the first book in this series. I liked the first book pretty well, but it just seemed cheesy to do the same plot twice in a row.

I rate this graphic novel 3 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: Fort Solitude (DC Comics Secret Hero Society #2).

STUDY HALL of JUSTICE (DC COMICS: SECRET HERO SOCIETY #1) by Derek Fridolfs and Dustin Nguyen

Published by Scholastic in 2016.

Study Hall of Justice is a YA graphic novel that is a re-imagining of the DC universe with a comic twist. 

Synopsis

Imagine a Hogwarts-type school where only children with special talents are invited. Young Bruce Wayne suspects that there is more going on in the school than meets the eye. The teachers are odd, not only quirky, but sometimes malicious - increasingly so.

Bruce starts to investigate, sometimes wearing a special costume to hide in the shadows, he begins to suspect that there is a malevolent figure running the school. He also encounters two other students who are looking into the school leadership - Clark Kent and Diana Prince.

My Review

While this book is aimed at middle schoolers, adult super fans of DC Comics will appreciate the easter eggs that abound. For example, Bruce Wayne's locker has shark repellent (from the 1960's Adam West movie) and movie stills from The Gray Ghost, a movie that inspires young Bruce Wayne to create his Batman personae (from Batman: The Animated Series.)

Coming of age themes abound, including each of the good guy trio acknowledging what makes them different, and coming to appreciate those differences in each other (see the picture to the right.)

It's a fun graphic novel. I rate it 4 stars out of 5.

This graphic novel can be found on Amazon.com here: Study Hall of Justice (DC Comics: Secret Hero Society #1)

SUPERMAN / WONDER WOMAN VOLUME 2: WAR and PEACE (graphic novel) by Charles Soule

Written by Charles Soule
Art by Tony S. Daniel

Published in 2015 by DC Comics

Synopsis

Superman has fought and defeated Doomsday, but during the fight he was infected with a Doomsday virus of some sort that is slowly merging into his genetic code and changing him into Doomsday.

Superman can hold it off simply by will and the sheer strength of being Superman, but Earth-based planetary defenses have released Kryptonite into the air around the world to drive the Superman/Doomsday hybrid away. Good enough, except that Brainiac has unleashed an attack on Earth and the Justice League really needs Superman's help...

My Review

This graphic novel was confusing and unnecessarily complicated. It seemed like it was an attempt to bring every possible character into the story and it was missing a key component - the fight with Doomsday.

The reason for that is simple - the story of that fight is not included in the Superman / Wonder Woman series. It is actually in a stand-alone volume called Superman: Doomed. The Doomed book is actually part of 3 or 4 different DC Comics story lines that all come together to meet in that story. However, there is no reference to the existence of that volume anywhere in the Superman / Wonder Woman cover art or in a prologue. They simply did not tell the reader that they should have read another story first.

That means this reader went in blind and felt like I was playing catch up the entire time. 

This quote from my review of Volume 1 of this series certainly applies to this volume in spades:

Almost everything about this story feels rushed. It's as if Soule had a 12 or 13 comic's worth of story that he had to tell in just 7 comics. Even worse, the story keeps gliding back and forth in time in a series of flashbacks that are labeled with a little blue box at the top of the first page of the current flashback. "Two hours ago." "Eight hours ago." "Now." They bounce around so much that it just confuses an already rushed story. Also, it ruins the drama because when they are in the "Now" timeline you can see how it all ends up.

I rate this graphic novel 1 star out of 5. Too many flashbacks, too rushed, and, most importantly, they should have told the reader that they were missing a key element of the story if they didn't read a stand alone volume. 

The Superman / Wonder Woman series continues on, but it continues without me.

This graphic novel can be found on Amazon.com here: Superman / Wonder Woman Volume 2: War and Peace.

SUPERMAN / WONDER WOMAN, Volume 1: Power Couple (graphic novel) by Charles Soule

Published in 2014 by DC Comics.

Written by Charles Soule.

Art by Tony S. Daniel

Synopsis

In the New 52 reboot of the DC universes we have a world where Superman and Wonder Woman are secretly dating. They are working through their relationship, dealing with cultural differences, a massive age difference, and the fact that a lot of her Greek god family basically hates him because he is a commoner, despite his extraordinary powers.

As part of larger plot to escape from the Phantom Zone, General Zod released Doomsday. Doomsday, you may remember, is the creature that killed Superman in the "Death of Superman" series back in 1992. This is one of  the first appearances of Doomsday in the New 52 reboot and he is as fearsome as ever. 

Meanwhile, Clark Kent's partner in an online publishing venture (Cat Grant) publishes an exclusive video that she received from an anonymous source. It shows Superman and Wonder Woman making out and suddenly they are the "it" couple around the world.

My Review

This summer I discovered Charles Soule and took full advantage of the library to read as much of his stuff as I could. Most of it is pretty good, but I cannot say the same of this collection. 

Almost everything about this story feels rushed. It's as if Soule had a 12 or 13 comic's worth of story that he had to tell in just 7 comics. Even worse, the story keeps gliding back and forth in time in a series of flashbacks that are labeled with a little blue box at the top of the first page of the current flashback. "Two hours ago." "Eight hours ago." "Now." They bounce around so much that it just confuses an already rushed story. Also, it ruins the drama because when they are in the "Now" timeline you can see how it all ends up. 

I rate this story 3 stars out of 5. There are moments of quality stuff here, including a scene between the Greek god Apollo and Superman that did not turn out the way that Apollo had hoped.

But, not enough.

This graphic novel can be found on Amazon.com here: Superman / Wonder Woman, Volume 1: Power Couple.

BATMAN: ONE BAD DAY - MR. FREEZE (graphic novel) by Gerry Duggan

Published in 2023 by DC Comics.

Written by Gerry Duggan

Art by Matteo Scalera and Deron Bennett.

Synopsis

Inspired by the "spirit of Christmas," Batman, Robin, and Alfred discuss the possibility that a hardened criminal can actually reform. Batman and Robin decide to reach out to Mr. Freeze and offer to fund his research. 

Mr. Freeze has always justifies his crime sprees with the rationalization that he needs the things he steals for his research. He put his wife in a frozen stasis in order to stop the progression of a fatal disease and the research to fight this disease is incredibly expensive and sometimes requires exotic materials. 

Now, Batman has provided everything Mr. Freeze needs in an old LexCorp lab. Theoretically, this should put an end to Mr. Freeze's criminal career, right?

It turns out that Mr. Freeze is far more complicated and far more creepy than anyone knew...

My Review

I read all of the graphic novels in the One Bad Day Series this summer and I think that this one was the best of a strong collection. It made me see Mr. Freeze in a completely different light and made him seem much more human - a profoundly mentally disturbed human with a lot of scientific and technical skills, but human.

The art is dark and moody, but also very clear. You can see when Robin smirks in a hopeful way at a comment Batman makes and you can feel the Batmobile fishtailing on a icy street. 

I rate this graphic novel 5 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: Batman: One Bad Day - Mr. Freeze.

SUPERMAN '78 (graphic novel) by Robert Venditti

Published in 2022 by DC Comics.

Written by Robert Venditti.

Art by Wilfredo Torres and Jordie Bellaire.

Synopsis

Superman '78 is a short series (sadly) based on the Christopher Reeves movies that were released from the late 1970s through the mid-1980s. Like the movies, the plot is pretty simple and everything follows a very traditional Superman storyline - red shorts, sassy Lois Lane, bald Lex Luthor, and so on. That's fine by me - I really like traditional Superman.

Brainiac saves the city of Superman's Kryptonian home from ultimate destruction when Krypton explodes by shrinking them and storing them safely on his ship in a glass jar. He keeps them stored away because they are the remnants of "a careless, dangerous civilization."

When Brainiac discovers that Earth has a Kryptonian (Superman), he seeks to save Earth by eradicating Superman because he is an infestation of an alien civilization that has already destroyed their own world. Kryptonians are dangerous and must be collected and stored away in their little glass jar.

Because he believes all Kryptonians are dangerous, Brainiac sends his robots to collect Superman. He is surprised when he finds that the citizens of Metropolis are more than willing to defend Superman - with arguments and weapons. One resident yells out, "ALL of us come from somewhere else" and another follows up with "Superman couldn't BE more Metropolis."

Brainiac decides that the mere presence of Superman has tainted the humans in Metropolis and they might have to be removed to one of his collection jars. Superman offers himself up willingly - as a trade in order to protect his city only to find out that Brainiac has other plans for Metropolis...

My Review

I really like the clean and simple lines of the art in this series. The spirit of the Reeves movies is obvious throughout. Quite enjoyable.

Funny note - Lex Luthor is on parole for one of his many crimes. Part of the condition of his parole is getting a job. The sight of Luthor in an unemployment office and being offered a job in a cafeteria is a hoot.

I rate this graphic novel 5 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: Superman '78.

BATMAN - ONE BAD DAY: CLAYFACE (graphic novel) by Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing

Published by DC Comics in 2023.

Written by Collin Keely and Jackson Lanzing.

Art by Xermánico and Romulo Fajardo, Jr.

Synopsis

Clayface has moved away from Gotham City and has gone to Hollywood to be a movie star. The original Clayface character from 1940 comic where he premiered was a B movie actor named Basil Karlo.

Basil Karlo is working as a waiter in Batman - One Bad Day: Clayface while trying to make it big in Hollywood. He's diligent about everything, but he does not have a light comic touch that is called for in romantic comedies. His roommate does, however. When they both read for the same part it becomes a problem when the roommate gets the part and Basil Karlo doesn't.

Being Clayface means you can make yourself look like anyone - at least for a little while. Clayface kills the roommate and then assumes his shape so he can get his big Hollywood break. And then one murder leads to another. And another. And another. And another and so on.

Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne is in town trying to sell a studio on the idea of filming a movie on location in Gotham City...

My Review

Batman in Hollywood was a little ridiculous, but I liked the way the story made a nod to the original roots of Clayface. At one point the story takes on aspects of a dark comedy as Clayface keeps on taking over the lives of more and more people while trying to keep it all hidden.

I also loved the nod to the really well-done episode of Batman: The Animated Series called Beware the Gray Ghost. Bruce Wayne is in town to discuss the filming of this movie because the Gray Ghost was a childhood favorite and one of the inspirations for Batman. 

I rate this graphic novel 4 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: Batman - One Bad Day: Clayface.

BATMAN - ONE BAD DAY: RA'S al GHUL (graphic novel) by Tom Taylor

Published in 2023 by DC Comics

Written by Tom Taylor

Art by Ivan Reis, Danny Miki, and Brad Anderson

Synopsis

The One Bad Day series looks at individual top level Batman villains (If you are a fan of Bootface, sorry) and gives them a comic that focuses on just that villain. 

In Batman - One Bad Day: Ra's al Ghul we encounter a newly brought back to life Ra's al Ghul. He looks at the current state of the world - a world with just a few corporate oligarchs controlling the media, manufacturing, shipping, etc. and decides to take action. 

When Batman notices the odd string of deaths Bruce Wayne's corporate peers, he decides to start investigating (the "World's Greatest Detective" actually does some detecting!). Ra's al Ghul lashes out to deter the investigation, and he goes after what Batman values most...

My Review

As I write this review, I want to be clear that I am not a fan of the Ra's al Ghul character, but his goals in this graphic novel made for an interesting read. I know that this is a DC Comic, but I have a Marvel comment to make. I've heard it said that the MCU movie villains have a point, but their way of dealing with the situation is over-the-top. For example, Thanos notices that there aren't enough resources, but he decides to kill off half of all life rather than help create more resources. Magneto and Killmonger have similar over the top answers to actual real world problems.

Ra's al Ghul has a point about horrible billionaires running the economy, but his reaction is more than a bit twisted - it's an MCU villain response to a problem. He needs Batman to stay out of the way and he has an equally twisted plan to do that. 

I rate this graphic novel 3 stars out of 5. I don't like the villain, his plan is ridiculous (and could probably be accomplished with legal maneuvers).

This graphic novel can be found on Amazon.com here: Batman - One Bad Day: Ra's al Ghul.

BATMAN - ONE BAD DAY: BANE (graphic novel) by Joshua Williamson

Published by D.C. Comics in 2023.

Written by Joshua Williamson

Art by Howard Porter and Tomeu Morey

Synopsis

The One Bad Day series looks at individual top level Batman villains (If you are a fan of Johnny Karaoke, sorry) and gives them a comic that focuses on just that villain. 

In Batman - One Bad Day: Bane we find Bane working as a professional wrestler in Mexico where he reenacts the moment where be broke Batman's back in match after match to the cheers of adoring crowds. Bane has wealth and fame, but he is broken inside. This graphic novel is the story that explains that brokenness...

My Review

Up until the halfway point of this graphic novel, I was sure that this edition of the One Bad Day tales was a dud. It was initially very confusing and the drawings seemed to be all overdone muscles, veiny arms, and monstrous faces.

The moment that changed the book was a moment of great sacrifice. It changes the arc of Bane's life and makes this a surprisingly hopeful (and grisly) story. I still hated the art, but the story was quite good.

I rate this graphic novel 4 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: Batman - One Bad Day: Bane. 

BATMAN - ONE BAD DAY: TWO-FACE (graphic novel) by Mariko Tamaki

Published in 2023 by DC Comics.

Written by Mariko Tamaki.

Art by Javier Fernandez and Jordie Bellaire.

Synopsis

The One Bad Day series looks at individual top level Batman villains (If you are a fan of Polka-Dot Man, sorry) and gives them a comic that focuses on just that villain. 

Batman - One Bad Day: Two-Face begins with a flashback of a hostage situation on the roof of a tall building. One of the cops on duty down below is Patrolman Christopher Nakano. Flash forward to the present day, for some inexplicable reason, Mayor Christopher Nakano offers Two-Face the chance to resume his job as the District Attorney of Gotham City.

Batman goes along and is determined to reform Two-Face so he can just be Harvey Dent

Why? Why? Why? Is Two-Face the only attorney in the city?

So, things go really well and Two-Face retires a hero.

Yeah right.

My Review

If you can get past the weirdness of responsible adults offering a violent felon with serious mental health issues an important job like District Attorney (which I clearly could not), the story is fairly interesting. You get to meet Harvey Dent's dad. There are arguments from Batgirl against the idea of hiring a super villain as the DA that no one listens to. 

The art was first-rate throughout.

I rate this graphic novel 3 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: Batman - One Bad Day: Two Face.

BATMAN - ONE BAD DAY: THE RIDDLER (graphic novel) by Tom King

Written by Tom King.

Art by Mitch Gerads.

Published in 2023 by DC Comics

2023 Eisner Winner - Best Single Issue/One-Shot

2023 Eisner Nominee - Best Limited Series

2023 Eisner Nominee - Best Writer, Tom King

2024 Libby Award Nominee for Best Comic/Graphic Novel

Synopsis

The One Bad Day series looks at individual top level Batman villains (If you are a fan of Condiment King, sorry) and gives them a comic that focuses on just that villain. 

Batman - One Bad Day: The Riddler begins with The Riddler in jail. He is ruminating over his abusive childhood and the reader gets to see his first steps into the world of crime. All of that ruminating has made The Riddler change his game plan when it comes to being a criminal...

My Review

The flashback scenes were extremely good, but the current day scenes were full of literally unbelievable things.

*****Spoilers*****

There are multiple things that just made me roll my eyes. Things that just don't make sense, even in a comic book world.

1) The scene where the The Riddler says he will hurt the armed guards' families if they take him to Arkham rings untrue. He promises that he can escape in hours. He looks at one guard and lists the name of the guard's children and the school that they attend. In this scene, the guards all shoot one another because one guard decides to take out a cuffed Riddler rather than have his family put at risk. I think it much more likely that they would just shoot him with the rubber bullets they had and then beat him to death with their rifle butts - all the more so in a city where insane villains keep escaping from Arkham Asylum. The Riddler says he  has escaped from Arkham more than 36 times! Why are they sending him back there? Why would the guards even hesitate to kill the man who threatens all they hold dear?

2) The Riddler maims a man who is sliding a food tray through the slot in the cell door. He grabs the tray and forces the man's hands into the top of the slot. So far, so good. That would hurt a lot and reminds the guards that Riddle is quite feral. Then, he pushes the tray so hard it cuts off eight of the man's fingers (not his thumbs). If Bane was doing the pushing on the tray, maybe. Is The Riddler as strong as Bane? Hardly.

3) A character points a shotgun at Batman's face from less than 10 feet away and shoots twice. He misses both times. Not a single piece of shot touches Batman because he is too fast. Ugh. I know Batman is fast and I know Batman's cowl is bulletproof, but the lower half of his face isn't. Shotguns are not rifles - the shot spreads out and covers a lot of area. Batman should have ended up looking like Two-Face.

*****End Spoilers*****

I think this graphic novel received rave reviews because of the extensive flashback scenes and the art. The art is not my favorite style, but it did set a profound mood of tragedy and danger. The flashbacks are excellent, especially the ones with his teacher. 

But, those scenes don't make up for the things that I mentioned in the spoilers. I know that it seems weird to expect some realism in a book with a man who wears a bat outfit to fight crime, but I think it's exceptionally lazy writing to have a characters in a comic book get away with unrealistic things just to make the plot move forward.

I have read almost all of the graphic novels in this series. If I had read this one first, I probably wouldn't have bothered with the rest.

I rate this graphic novel 2 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: Batman - One Bad Day: The Riddler.