Batman #100
Written by James Tynion IV
Art by Jorge Jiminez

Was this a good issue of Batman? Yes, I suppose it was on some level, in that it was coherent and readable. But as a conclusion to the Joker War saga that has been ongoing for months, and crossed over into most of the Bat-related books, requiring writers to drop everything to contribute to yet another of these massive, mega event multi-title epics, this issue rings hollow and wholly unsatisfactory.

After investing so many man hours and resources into the Joker War, and even using it to end 2 of the DC Bat books (Harley Quinn and Batgirl), what we're left with is that nothing has really changed in the Bat universe, no one of any importance has died, and Gotham seems to be right back where it was before Joker and his clowns burned much of it to the ground.

Bruce laments that hopefully this ordeal has made him a better man, and a better Batman while Harley looks on and says, "well, yeah, I'd hate to see you become a crappier Batman," or something along those lines. That's right, in Bruce's moment of self contemplation after the Joker War, he isn't conversing with his wife, but keeping Harley Quinn company as she convalesces in a hospital, and makes her cliche wisecracks.

We also learn that Joker has, of course, survived, and he is, of course, doing Joker things out on the outskirts of town as he lies low and regroups and licks his wounds after the defeat.

After mulling over this issue, and the entire Joker War as a whole, I tried to think of what the point was. I mean, other than selling a few more books than they probably normally would have. And I came to the conclusion that throughout the saga, 2 new characters have been introduced to the Bat universe, Punchline and Clownhunter, and both of these characters receive sizable denouments in this issue. I've read that Punchline will be receiving her own book beginning later this year, and would not be surprised if Clownhunter receives the same treatment at some point. So, that's it then. That was the point of the epic, several months in the making, multi-book crossover, multi-book ending Joker War extravaganza, to introduce a couple of new characters. And to be honest, while both have something interesting about them at least, neither are particularly great characters.

I suppose on some level I feel a bit cheated by this whole Joker War saga. DC asked us to invest half the year, and a sizable chunk of change into this thing, and I'm left unsatisfied. I wish the stakes had been higher. I wish something of gravity and importance had come as a result of it. The whole thing feels like a throwback to when I was a kid, and they gave us The Death of Superman and Knightfall, but at least those bloated story arcs offered some changes of lasting importance. At least somewhat. I don't know, I'm rambling at this point. Just feeling a bit jaded toward and deflated by DC at this point.

So, yeah, Batman 100, go get it, kiddies.

Marauders #13 Written by Vita Ayala. Art and Matteo Loli.

This is chapter 5 in the X of Swords crossover and as expected, it continues the crossover story and does little with the ongoing Marauders story. In fact regular series writer Gerry Duggan and artist Stefano Caselli both seem to have said "You know, we're sitting this one out, let us know when we can continue our own series." It's a bit more Marauders focused than Chapter 2, the last chapter I've read (X-Factor) as in that this issue focuses on Storm, one of the main characters in Marauders and has a support role of Kate Pryde, the main character in Marauders.
I'm not reading Wolverine or X-Force, so I have no clue what happened in those two issues, but from the ending I can make a guess. The missing chapters don't seem to be required reading so far at least.

What went before: Mutants have united and live nearly all on the island of Krakoa. Apocalypse has revealed that he has tried something similar before, on the island of Okkara, but a demonic invasion forced him to sacrifice his wife, his children and half the island, splitting Okkara in Krakoa and Arakko. Arakko was thrown into another dimension and now the demonic armies, lead by Apocalypse's children, the four original Horsemen, have returned for revenge and conquest. Their army is stopped in Otherworld by the magic of the Omniversal Majestrix, Saturnyne. She gets both the Horsemen and the X-Men to agree to a duel: 10 champions of each side, each armed with a special sword will face each other on the battlefield in Otherworld.


Plot: Storm is one of the 10 chosen warriors and travels to Wakanda to pick up her prophesied weapon, the sword Skybreaker (not to be confused with Stormbreaker, Beta Ray Bills hammer). Skybreaker is the first weapon forged from Vibranium and was used by the first king of Wakanda to protect the nation. It allows the wielder to channel lightning from the sky, so seems to be a natural fit for Storm. Skybreaker is a national artifact of Wakanda though and may not be removed from Wakandan soil according to tradition. Ororo petitions Queen-mother Ramonda and Shuri to take the sword (T'Challa is away from Wakanda), but they refuse, telling her that this kind of decision must be made by the King. Ororo agrees to wait, but is impatient and tries to steal the sword in the night (having been shown all the security that protects the sword back when she was Queen of Wakanda). Shuri predicts this and faces her former sister-in-law.

The Good: Well, it's better than X-Factor in that it actually focuses on one of the characters in the regular title for this crossover.
Also it's readable without reading the rest of the crossover, Storm explains to Ramonda the basic plot of the crossover and why she needs the blade very clearly and it's all you need to know as reader.

I like that when tells them that she needs a blade, both Shuri and Ramonda list several legendary Wakandan weapons each with their bit of backstory, adding to the rich history of Wakanda that they have been building on in recent years, making it feel more and more like a real nation with a history.


The Bad: The story is just there. Storm gives the impression that she never expected to get the sword and can't wait to break and enter when everybody's back is turned. Wakanda meanwhile is "we must obey tradition!" including Shuri, no matter the invading demonic hordes that won't stop at Krakoa. The writing really feels like "there must be friction between these characters that have known each other for years" which.. fair enough; Storm barging in and demanding a relic of Wakanda will cause some friction but the execution here is lacking completely. At no point do I feel that Storm feels bad for betraying these people who are family to her.

Also, Shuri in this is movie Shuri pretty much. I really miss Shuri from Coates first run on Black Panther, but I guess I can't blame the creative team behind this issue for that, that change was probably made the instant the movie was a success. And her blind obedience to tradition here annoys me with her role as keeper of traditions and history in that series, where Shuri actually could tell you exactly *why* a tradition was created and was completely willing to break with tradition if the need was there.

The art is ok, but nothing really spectacular or interesting despite some opportunities (the way the legend of Skybreaker is told was an opportunity to do something interesting or the the various traps/security measures T'Challa

Not helping is that Duggan/Caselli Marauders is probably my favourite Marvel title at the moment and missing the ongoing battle/machinations between Kate Ryde and Emma Frost vs. Sebastian Shaw for this story just adds salt to the wound.

3/10

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I would expect with a title like Swamp Thing the stories should be down and dirty, let alone muddy!
And a Swamp Thing comic just screams for a Hostess Mud Pie advertisement page inside😁

That one will probably live or die with the artwork for me, since - and I understand that this goes against the consensus opinion - I don't think Gaiman's style is a necessarily a good fit for this kind of mythology, as opposed to his own invented modern fantasies. I'll look for some online samples or leaf through it in a comic shop if I see it anywhere, and if I like the art I might buy the collected edition whenever it appears.

The art in this issue really was fantastic, we already knew Russell could nail the look of Norse world but Mignola and Ordway were every bit as stunning. As I said, the art is worth the price of admission on it's own.

The tone is definitely well done, I just really wish the structure was tighter.