030 Batman Vol 1: I Am Gotham

I'm a huge fan of Scott Snyder's run on Batman,  Huge.  So it's taking a little getting used to someone else writing this book.  Tom King is a solid writer and I think he's off to a good start.  We're setting up a new dynamic here, with Duke Thomas now firmly ensconced in the Batcave.  I like Duke and I like the slow and steady use of him.  I like that Batman has gotten him a costume, but he's not been in it yet.  Slow and steady wins the race.  Always.  As a counterpoint to Duke, we have Gotham and Gotham Girl.  Two super-powered heroes who suddenly show up on the scene.  And they're all over Gotham.  They came on strong and burned out even stronger.  It's too bad, because I would have liked to have seen them show up here and there before getting to their story.  (Remember subplots and foreshadowing?  I mean REAL subplots and foreshadowing, not what we're given these days.  The fact that the next storyline is broadcast in each issue of this trade doesn't mean it counts as either of those things.)  They might have felt like more than throw away characters.

All in all this was a solid first volume of the Rebirth run of Batman.  I'm anxious to read more.

Batman Vol. 1: I Am Gotham

Writer: Tom King, Scott Snyder

Artist: David Finch, Mikel Janin, Ivan Reis, matt Banning, Danny Miki, Sandra Hope, Scott Hanna, Joe Prado, Oclair Albert

DC Comics

006 Metamorpho: Two Worlds One Destiny

This is the third trade I've read reprinting stories from the Legends Of Tomorrow anthology book DC recently published.  I was pleasantly surprised by the first two books I read.  Metal Men and Firestorm.  There was a real focus in both those books to start to undo the damage the New 52 did and to try to find the heart of the characters again.  To bring the books back to where they actually worked.  Metamorpho is slightly different, but very much the same in those regards.  As far as I can tell, this is his first New 52 appearance, so there isn't a whole lot of "fixing" that needs to be done.  If he has appeared already, I'm unaware of it.  This book is his New 52 (or Rebirth) origin story.  What I like about it is Aaron Lopresti has taken the core cast and thought about how they might have been introduced in a modern setting.  And it works.  Simon Stagg is pretty much Simon Stagg.  Sapphire Stagg, his daughter, is anything but a spoiled socialite this time around.  She's an accomplished scientist and it doesn't seem to take away much from the character.  It adds another layer, if you ask me.  The Sapphire of the 60s worked well then, but I can't see making her a Kardashian clone working well.  Java has been given an upgrade, too.  And again, I think it works well.  

While the story itself wasn't my favorite, it does show a lot of potential for the character.  DC remains true to Metamorpho, which makes me very happy.  I didn't much care for how the book ended, but hopefully that will be addressed in the near future.

Metamorpho: Two Worlds One Destiny

Writer: Aaron Lopresti

Artist: Aaron Lopresti, Matt Banning, Jonathan Glapion, Livesay

DC Comics