Book Review: Daredevil: Yellow by J. Loeb and T. Sale

Daredevil: Yellow storytelling by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale

After Karen Page's death, Matt Murdock decides (on Foggy Nelson's advice) to write her a letter explaining how he feels about the situation. The writing is a way to deal with his love of her and his guilt over her death. He goes back to the beginning, which means starting with the death of his own father while Matt was in law school. Jack Murdock was a boxer whose career had a sudden revival with a string of knockouts. Jack's new manager is nicknamed "The Fixer," which turns out to be exactly what it implies. When they get to the fight where Jack is supposed to take a dive instead of his opponent, Jack refuses. The Fixer is upset because Jack wasn't following orders and his wider crime-world connections are unhappy too. Matt, while working hard at his Columbia Law School studies, has also been working hard on his fighting skills. When his dad is killed and the justice system lets the killers go free, Matt goes to his dad's trunk, going through his fighting gear (which includes a yellow robe), and makes his first Daredevil suit out of it. Then he goes to avenge his dad. Meanwhile, he and Foggy have finished law school and open their own practice, hiring Karen Page, who becomes a catalyst for romantic drama between the two lawyers.

Loeb and Sale are a great team, crafting masterpieces like Batman: The Long Halloween. They make a great origin story for Daredevil, incorporating all the classic bits while giving the story more depth and emotion. They have the law firm though courtroom scenes are kept to a minimum. Daredevil has some awkward integration with other Manhattan superheroes and villains. When the Fantastic Four show up at the law firm, have they figured out Matt's secret identity or do they really just need legal help with Reed's patents? The fight scenes are not the main focus but are interesting and do connect to larger themes and narratives. As Matt reminiscences, the seemingly scattershot details fit together as a whole, providing more insight into his personality. 

Recommended, highly for Daredevil fans. 

Book Review: Batman: The Long Halloween The Sequel: Dark Victory by J. Loeb et al.

Batman: The Long Halloween The Sequel: Dark Victory written by Jeph Loeb and art by Tim Sale

Just when you thought the Calendar Murders were solved, a new holiday-themed killing spree erupts in Gotham City. This time, cops are targeted. The hung bodies all have a bloody "hang man" game attached to them, written on files from ex-DA Harvey Dent. Dent was splashed with acid and became Two-Face in the previous story. He was locked up in Arkham Asylum but a break-out happened and a lot of villains, including Harvey, are on the loose. Can Batman, Commissioner Gordon, and new DA Janice Porter, who has her own dark secrets and past with both Dent and the crime families of Gotham, stop the murderer or murderers?

This story is fairly grim as both Gordon and Batman deal with their guilt over what happened to Harvey Dent. Harvey has his own scheme, gathering the freed criminals in the sewers, though his objective is not clear. The Falcone family, now headed by Sofia Falcone, is bent on revenge for her father's death and her own wounding at the hands of Catwoman in the previous story. Catwoman drops out of the story for her Roman adventure (the When in Rome graphic novel) though she returns at the very end of this book. Dick Greyson shows up late the volume and becomes Robin at the very end. He almost seems shoe-horned in but he is yet another character trying to find a place in the world after a traumatic displacement, like Harvey and Gordon and the Falcones and Catwoman and Batman. Bruce Wayne hopes to provide a better opportunity to Dick than he had as a child (oddly enough, so does Alfred the Butler). A redemptive undertone fills the book.

While the plot wasn't as tight and focused as in The Long Halloween, it is exciting enough and has plenty intrigue to keep readers engaged. Sale's art is very particular and fits the dark, odd tone of the story. 

Recommended, highly for Batman fans.

Book Review: Batman: Haunted Knight by J. Loeb et al.

Batman: Haunted Knight storytelling by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale

Before starting The Long Halloween, Jeph Loeb sold DC Comics on publishing some "Halloween Specials" featuring Batman. The natural pairing of Halloween and Batman hadn't been done before. Loeb worked with his long-time artistic partner Tim Sale. This series (three stories) was very popular. Here's a story-by-story rundown...

Fear--Scarecrow is blowing up electric relay station in Gotham, plunging neighborhoods into darkness. Scarecrow then loots and terrorizes the area. Batman works tirelessly to find the next target. Actually, he is getting tired, making him more vulnerable. He has some natural fear of failure that is enhanced by Scarecrow's toxins.

It doesn't help that it's Halloween weekend. Bruce Wayne has a big costume party. One of the guests is a woman he does not recognize but who catches his attention. His fascination with her brings on another fear, the fear of missing out on a normal, happy life. Bruce wants to run away and get some rest with this new woman, to be the billionaire playboy he passes himself off as. 

The parallel plots work very well together. I haven't read many Scarecrow stories, this one feel very fresh and well thought out. We learn something of Scarecrow, a bit about Batman's relationship to Bruce Wayne, and even Alfred Pennyworth (Wayne's butler) gets some nice moments to shine.

Madness--The Mad Hatter is kidnapping kids on Halloween and one of his victims is a teen-aged Barbara Gordon, daughter of Commissioner Gordon. Gordon and his daughter had a bit of a falling out over going trick or treating, resulting in her leaving the house without permission. Meanwhile, Batman has been pursuing The Mad Hatter with little success and a lot of flashbacks.

The story leans effectively into the Alice in Wonderland connection for the villain while also revealing a connection for Bruce Wayne. Gordon's struggles to be a good father add an interesting element and highlights a theme of how challenging relationships can be for parents and children. 

Ghosts--Bruce Wayne has an encounter with The Penguin on Halloween eve. Returning home after the capture, he gets the "Christmas Carol" treatment when he goes to bed. His father's ghost visits him carrying "the chains he forged in life" while he was so focused on being a doctor and not a father. He promises three spirits will come to show Bruce more.

This story was the weakest of the set. The transposition from Christmas to Halloween and from Scrooge to Bruce Wayne has a lot of potential but this didn't quite have the impact it could have. The creators stick to the form of Dickens's classic too much, giving a predictable ending. Bruce winds up in a happier place, though he's hardly as damaged as Scrooge was and he's hardly as transformed as Scrooge was. I was underwhelmed.

Overall, this is an interesting series and readers can easily see the origin of The Long Halloween, which is a classic in Batman storytelling.

Recommended, highly for Batman fans.

Book Review: Catwoman: When in Rome by J. Loeb et al.

Catwoman: When in Rome written by Jeph Loeb, art by Tim Sale, and colors by Dave Stewart

Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman, travels to Rome with Edward Nigma, aka The Riddler, in tow. She wants to find out something very important to her--who her parents really are. She suspects she is the daughter of Carmine "The Roman" Falcone, a top crime boss in Gotham City. Her investigation leads to a lot of other mafia (if there is such a thing) connections. She keeps having nightmares of Batman following her to Rome to "help" her. She really doesn't want help from the Dark Knight since she's dealing with enough problems for one plot line.

The mystery is intriguing. Selina is enough of a person (at least in this story) to hold her own as a lead. The conflicted nature of her character comes through. The art still has the dark and brooding style typical of Batman comics. She does appear scantily clad several times, so this particular story isn't for little kids. The narrative is good and Loeb has a great sense of how Selina/Catwoman talks. Another Loeb trademark shows up--a lot of other Batman characters are thrown in to the story to provide obstacles for Catwoman. She gets about what she deserves by the end.

Recommended for Batman and Catwoman fans.

Book Review: Superman for All Seasons by J. Loeb et al.

Superman for All Seasons written by Jeph Loeb and art by Tim Sale

With comic book characters who've been around for a long time, it's hard to come up with new stories. Lately creators have either gone epic or gone back to retelling origin stories. This book takes the 80-year old character Superman and tells some stories from Smallville and Clark Kent's first times in Metropolis working for The Daily Planet and saving people.

The book has four parts, one for each season (hence the title). Each season is narrated by a different character, starting with Jonathan Kent in Spring. Young Clark learns more about his powers and ponders a bit about his place in the world, something a lot of teens deal with. Lois Lane narrates Summer. The most interesting and entertaining is Lex Luthor narrating Fall where Clark/Superman face hard challenges engineered by Luthor. Winter is narrated by Lana Lang, Clark's childhood sweetheart and something of a soulmate who helps him through the darkness from the Fall.

The story is interesting and feels fresh. The art follows the early style where Clark is huge and blocky and earnest. The whole package feels classic and is highly enjoyable. This is probably the best Superman story I've read, and I loved Superman: Secret Origin by Geoff Johns.

Highly recommended.