POBB October 2, 2019

Pick of the Brown Bag 

October 2, 2019

by 

Ray Tate 

The Pick of the Brown Bag is on time with the weekly reviews of Batman, Black Cat, Contagion, Future Foundation, Ruby Falls, Superman Up In the Sky and Vampire State Building.  If you haven't time for the meatier reviews, you can always check me out on Twitter: #PickoftheBrownBag.

For those who came late to the picture, and without massive spoilers.  Bane defeated Batman and took over Gotham City.  Bane replaced the Gotham City PD with Arkham Inmates, subjected to mind control so that they play nice with each other and obey Bane.  

Batman scraped himself off the floor of nearly total demolition by one of Bane’s enforcers.  This enforcer wasn’t a nobody.  Bane took more personal hostages to keep other superheroes from interfering. No. Big. Yellow. Birds.  Here.  

Batman unexpectedly reunited with Catwoman who healed him with expensive medicines, tenderness and piping hot sex.  

She and he intended to take back Gotham City.  They made their plans on an island paradise where Batman assumed his favorite guise of Matches Malone but took the visual identity of Thomas Magnum.  In this issue, Matches Malone returns to Gotham City, and he ain’t Magnum.

Batman and Catwoman cut a swathe through Banes’s corruption.  Meanwhile Tom King suggests that Bane’s enforcer may have an ulterior motive for his actions, indicating that perhaps this is a longer game than first thought.  

It’s interesting that each character plays a different length of game.  Catwoman plays the shortest game.  Free Gotham.  Love Batman.  Batman plays a slightly longer game.  Free and protect Gotham, with the added component of loving Catwoman.  Bane played the longest game.  The entire run of Tom King’s Batman.  Humiliate, maim and destroy Batman.  Take Gotham City.  The enforcer, now seems to have a much better motive for doing what he’s doing.  If so it explains all the contradictions I’ve pointed out in past reviews, and his game becomes the longest.

For this issue of Batman, John Romita Jr. returns.   Romita drew Batman a handful of times.  He’s not recognized as a Batman artist.  This is easily the best he’s illustrated Batman.

The key to being a good Batman artist is that you can draw Batman in the light so to speak and he still looks like Batman rather than a guy in a Batman costume.  Romita makes it this issue.  Klaus Janson is associated with Batman, but he doesn’t really alter Romita’s illustration.  They’re a good marriage, and the colors by Tomeu Morey enhance the drama of Batman’s triumphant return.  

It’s too early to predict Bane’s defeat, but Batman and Catwoman beat up a lot of criminals on and off panel in rousing scenes.  That alone makes it worth recommending.  "Hell Yeah."

Superman Up in the Sky relates an embellishment of the historic Superman/Flash race, which originally occurred in 1967’s Superman #199.  In every media—Smallville, Supergirl, Superman the Animated Series, etc.—where Superman and the Flash exist, the creative teams recreate the race.  This recreation takes an in depth look at the race, the reactions of the spectators and the way different factors came into play to make both contestants want to win badly.

An in depth look into a kind of comic book joke could be at the least be self-congratulatory and at worst just boring repetition.  Surprisingly every recreation of the Superman/Flash race has always been flattering.  This one is no different.

Superman Up In the Sky occurs because Superman is searching the cosmos for alien abductors of a little girl named Alice.  To hammer in the guilt, the little girl’s favorite hero is Superman.  Superman’s bringing that little girl back home.

Though the main story focuses on the race.  It still ties in with the alien-abduction.  However, the second story  also by Tom King and Andy Kubert is part of the chase.

Superman is struck by strange lightning and split into two.  WTF.

Believe it or not.  This has happened before.  Most memorably in the underrated Superman 3.

The difference lies in the philosophy.  Tom King believes that although Superman is a Kryptonian, he still would be essentially good.  Supergirl gives strength to his argument.

Clark injects Superman with humility.  

Superman makes certain Clark is safe and then heads off to stop the evils of the universe.  This Superman is logical.  He cannot abandon the earth or universe for the sake of one girl.  Except…

Whether or not this split Superman would act the same way if not for the latent drive Clark imbued to him is a moot point.  What matters is that it’s there, either by inherent duty or through Clark’s exposure.  This is a thoughtful story about Man and Superman

Fungus.  Nobody likes to think about it.  That’s because it’s a kingdom unto itself.  It furthermore preys upon all living things.  It’s not a parasite.  It’s a predator.  It simply doesn’t bother to chase you down.  It eats you alive.  Unless of course you kill it first.   

The fungus in Contagion originates in Marvel’s Shangri-La, K’un-Lun.  

Ask me why that makes sense.  Because intelligent plants invaded K’un-Lun.  They made an enemy out of Danny Rand.

The blind woman is Yu-Ti.  Yu-Ti used to be the dude known as the Dragon Lord.  This progressive change mixes equality with nostalgia.  This setup is filled with juicy morsels of Marvel goodness and more attention grabbing than most.

Things really rock when the fungus spreads to Manhattan.  A Yancy Streeter attempts to solicit the Thing’s aid.  Association breeds contempt.

Soon, however it’s Clobbering Time.  With the Thing involved, the FF can’t be far behind, and we soon get a defacto Fantastic Four adventure.

Contagion is a memorable premiere of a new event.  Writer Ed Brisson carefully crafts plausibility in the affair the groundwork, and through those connections involves heroes that you wouldn’t think have a lot in common.

The second part of the Black Cat is a corker.  The story began with Felicia Hardy and her Crew—Doc and Bruno—stealing a book from Reed Richards’ library at the behest of Felicia’s father’s mentor.  The Black Fox.  This led to Black Cat reuniting with her former flame the Human Torch.  Yeah.  Felicia elegantly explained why her relationship with the Torch isn’t awkward with regard to her one-time lover Spider-Man.  In any case, Blastaar interrupts the date night distraction.

Blastaar is no joke.  Dude’s a powerful Stan Lee/Jack Kirby brute that’s a fan of Kalibak’s stylist.  Felicia however referred to him as an “evil space Muppet,” and that sets the tone for the entire zany often hilarious issue of Black Cat.

At first Black Cat attempts to run.  With the building on lock-down, that’s not an option.  Also not an option, closing the Negative Zone gateway.  Both however really smart moves.

Black Cat’s path becomes ever more treacherous.  

In Blastaar’s philosophy, I’m sure he’s granting Black Cat an honor.  Of course, there’s no free will on the party of the second part in this arrangement.  Unless Blastaar can take no for an answer which I doubt.  Nevertheless, Black Cat’s reaction keeps the story bouncy rather than dark.  Oh, she later seriously addresses what’s in essence wrong with Blastaar’s decision, but even that scene maintains the fun momentum.

Writer Jed MacKay and a superb Travel Foreman demonstrate that Blastaar though a very dangerous foe is also kind of a loser.

He can go toe-to-toe with the Fantastic Four, but he’s been beaten by a whole bunch of heroes, and he’s kind of an idiot.  Apparently, Bruno in a Thing Suit can also give him a little run for his money.  The piece de resistance is a believable defeat by Black Cat and Her Crew with a little assist from a special guest-star that both Johnny and Felicia wish hadn’t shown up.

The Future Foundation teams up with the Maker—an evil version of Reed Richards—and his alien psychopaths.  This is a pretty good truce with some comedic commentary by Alex Power.  That said.  The real draw for me is a look at Rikki Barnes, alias Bucky, alias Nomad.  

I’m a sucker for this sort of thing.  Honestly, this review is completely subjective.  I just love alternate realities and parallel universes.  I can’t help myself.  I fell in love with Earth Two long ago.  The Justice Society.  The Huntress.  Power Girl.   So, watching Rikki die, but suddenly finding herself alive in multiple universes.  That tickles me.  The narrative, visual summary features two remarkable guest appearances and different versions of Cap, all within six pages.

Ann Nocenti teases a mystery in her new title from Dark Horse Ruby Falls.  The debut introduces the detective, in the mold of Nancy Drew.

Lana, the brunette with the startling eyebrows, uncovers an enigma from the memories of her grandmother.  Although these could be delusions.

The way the story unfolds through possibly fragmented or symbolic memories is reminiscent of a 1990s Columbo.  Don’t misread that.  I love Columbo.  The comparison is complimentary.  Columbo is easily the most complex mystery series presented by American television.

In “Murder: A Self Portrait,” Lieutenant Columbo had to decipher the clues of a dead woman’s dreams in order to catch her murderer.  It was a fascinating story, and Ruby Falls holds the same fascination.

On the surface, its seems like an ordinary cold case, but the way in which the grandmother repeats certain questions.  The way the art including that of colorist Lee Louridge relays the memories indicates that there’s more going on here than the surface drawings.  This is also true when there doesn’t seem to be a mystery.  Artist Flavia Biondi replicates certain poses as an elliptical motif to accompany the main crime.

Vampire State Building is exactly what it says it is.  This baby’s got a real Kolchak feel.  What I said about Columbo applies to Kolchak.  The key to this flavor lies within the way the horror evolves.  The catalyst is easy to discern.

And when they break the seal, the vampires of New York swarm to the Empire State Building.  Naturally, this is bad news for the tourists.  

The police incredulously believe that this is part of a terrorist attack, thus Vampire State reflects Carl Kolchak’s lone man truth against rationalization.

Charlie Adlard provides the artwork fo the Ange and Patrick Renault terror tale.  Adlard cut his teeth on The X-Files from Topps.  So, you can bet that this is atmospheric as all get out but at heart a monster mash as it should be.