Convergence: Nightwing and Oracle #1 - "Birds of Rage" Review

WARNING: This review may contain spoilers!

Fan service and slugfests, that's all you need in Convergence

The pacing, the action, the romance, the characters; this issue just does so many things right, it's hard to figure out where to begin. Covered within is the convergence of Pre-Flashpoint Nightwing and Oracle, trying to come to terms with life beneath the dome; and Flashpoint Hackman and Hawkwoman, forfeiting their hometown in an attempt to become refugees/rulers of another.

The book starts out with the sad (although predictable) news for many readers that the Justice Riders have been eradicated by the Flashpoint Hawks. The art here is beautiful, with the burning buildings reflecting the rage which so recently laid waste to the town of El Inferno. The Hawks then take off to terrorize a new world, and the book jumps to Nightwing and Oracle.

Convergence: Nightwing and Oracle #1 
April 8, 2015 by DC Comics
32 page Comic • $3.99

Between Barbara's concern for the mental state of all of Gotham and our two heroes' relationship, this issue does a splendid job of keeping the tension while waiting for the Hawks to show up. While Nightwing stands off against Mr. Freeze in an encounter that sends a chill down the spine, Barbara is having a thought-box reflection of Gotham's time under the dome. From here, the depiction of Nightwing and Oracle's relationship is endearing, highlighted by Barbara playfully calling Dick "Wonder Boy"; and heartstrings are plucked when Starfire shows up to create the love triangle, keeping the reader on their toes to see through a story that probably won't be played out. However, this sequence does a good job of breaking up the action and recreating that intense connection to the characters. A connection which crescendoes when Dick finally pops the question and is denied just before the Flashpoint Hawks show up.

The resulting conflict is nothing special, I'll be the first to admit, but it's sets the story up for what will undoubtably be an amazing showdown in the next issue. From the Hawks showing off their powerful little robot buddies by blowing up a bridge, to Oracle's reveal that even though Nightwing's off to armor up, she's been fighting them for the entire encounter; this sequence is well thought out, and the dialogue is appropriate. 

Verdict

This is what I've been looking for in the Convergence titles. Fan-service and slugfests. Is that too much to ask? Where others have failed, this book delivers. It even has an allusion to that Savior Ivy story I still want to see. If you haven't already bought this one, go out and get it now! It's worth your money.

Convergence: Batman and Robin #1 - "Father & Sons" Review

WARNING: This review may contain spoilers!

Poison Ivy is saving Gotham, but Robin is too jealous

Batman and Robin was a great series and for plenty of good reasons. The dynamics of the relationship between the duo are a roller coaster ride that show personal growth in both characters. Well, this issue takes us back to the early days of their relationship (Pre-Flashpoint aka Pre-New52) to bring us a rehashed tale of jealousy and set the scene for issue #2.

Convergence: Batman and Robin #1
April 8, 2015 by DC Comics
32 page Comic • $3.99

Before we get into it, I need to point out how much I appreciate the "Fight For Your City" page at the beginning of the issue. It gives us an idea of who we can be expecting in these week one titles. A convenience that the main title left out, leaving some readers (myself included) confused. Although, I already know the Batman and Robin within the issue, it was good to shake hands before getting down to business.

After we greet our heroes and setting, the book establishes that in year after being displaced to Telos, food sources have become scarce and Poison Ivy has risen up to save the city with fresh produce. This is an interesting concept which I would have liked to see more of. Yet rather than tell this story, the writer decided rather to give us something worth fighting for, and then rushed through the fight without any background. At least Batman said "Thank you, Ivy." That was considerate...

With the story worth telling being ignored, the book proceeds to re-introduce us to our already well-known star. Now, it definitely does a good job of highlighting Damian Wayne, the most current Robin's, character for those who may not be familiar. However, I question the necessity of this, because this is a tie-in title; if I hadn't already been interested in these characters, I wouldn't have picked up this book. I also wonder why the writer decided to go with another telling of "Robin is jealous of previous Robin". We get it. Using the title of Robin for more than one character creates the pissing match atmosphere that exists in all sibling relationships. Move on. To put insult to injury, there is a summary of Damian's Robin in the back of the issue. Personally, I think this should have been in the beginning of the book for readers who might be curious about these characters or are only coming for the Extremists. Maybe then we could have avoided the long-winded "hello".

Lastly, the book hastily sets up the fight for the next issue, with the Extremists appearing out of nowhere. (Sorry if you came for them. You get one splash page; that's it.)

Verdict

I want to be onboard for this issue, but I just can't. While Savior Ivy is a great start to a possibly good story; it wasn't fleshed out here. (Perhaps it is in the Harley book I failed to pick up. *sigh*) The issue doesn't do anything new, and the lack of true content is appalling. It's quite obvious that the Extremists are going to be killed off next issue; so should I even come back? I probably won't... Oh well.

Convergence #1 - "Domesday" Review

WARNING: This review may contain spoilers!

"Are we there yet?" "We'll get there when we get there!"

Whether you've been patiently waiting patiently or you've just now decided "Sure, why not?", Convergence has officially begun! What can readers expect going into this one? Well, readers should expect some lack-luster writing, some confusion (for some), and a lot of exposition that leaves with the feeling that we still haven't quite started...

Convergence #1
April 8, 2015 by DC Comics
40 page Comic • $4.99

The issue opens with the Injustice universe characters fighting Superman, and fortunately, this part doesn't rely on the reader having read the entire series, as simply understanding the fact that Superman turns evil is sufficient. So, I'm just glad I played the game and know that much. Despite the lack of exposition, at least they let you know which universe this is with the opening Evil Supes thought box: "Gotham City. A city where a great INJUSTICE was done..." Can't argue those coordinates. 

The next section of this issue is much more confusing, for those (like myself) who did not read Earth 2 or Worlds End. So Batman is the first to pop onto Telos, and I swear I thought he was Flashpoint Batman. Nope. Turns out Earth 2 Bats is just really similar to Flashpoint Bats. So I spent the rest of the book wondering who these characters were, how Tommy Wayne new them, and "What now with Darkseid?" Unfortunately we get no "Our world has ended, our second earth" blurb to set the scene. Maybe no necessary for everyone, but it would have been greatly appreciated by some.

Even more appreciation would have been awarded to less monologuing by Telos. (Oh Telos, you love that Jesus Christ Pose, don't you?) Honestly, he doesn't say much we didn't already know. We're already here, because we were promised DC's take on Thunderdome. Stop explaining give us some proper exposition sprinkled slug-festing. Please and thank you. Unfortunately this redo on last weeks issue takes us right to the end, with the last splash panel pretty clearly foreshadowing that Superman will be the one to save the day. I can't help but feeling like I just looked at a couple of bookends. Front cover - back cover, no pages in-between. 

Finally, we are again presented with a "Who's Who" bit in the back. Given the issue I just read, this seems even more important than I previously assumed. Without at least going to Wikipedia, I may end up completely lost by the end of May.

Verdict

I once again, can't recommend this book to anyone. Not for the $4.99 price. Borrow a friend's copy or don't even bother. I only hope that next week's issue is worth it. With all this setup out of the way, it would only be logical that we get into the meat and potatoes next week. (Yet, that's what I thought last time.) So, here me now DC, this is your last chance. Get on with it, or I'm out.

Marvel Truly is Unlimited

Marvel. It's like a giant delicious looking burger. It's got all the things you love. The Avengers are that flame-broiled angus beef patty. The X-Men are those fresh, crisp garden veggies. The Fantastic 4 are those four strips of mouth-watering bacon. Spice it up with your choice of condiments. Spider-Man, Gwen, Ham, Silk, 2099, Noir, Boy, Woman, Girl, or Miles Morales? Oh and by the way did you want your Avengers Uncanny, Secret, Dark, or Mighty? There's a hundreds of different cheeses in the world; which would you like? Deadpool, Darkpool, Zombie-Headpool, Pandapool, Female Deadpool? Take your pick. Now put the whole thing inbetween two soft buttery buns which the previous event (AvX) and the next event (Secret Wars).

Ok, I think I've made my point. Marvel comes across as a delicious looking burger that is just way to big to take a bite. It's intimidating. I want to dive in, but there's just so much that I don't know. Unfortunately, I'm not a long time fan of any of the characters. I only watched a little bit of the X-Men animated series, and I only played a couple Spider-Man games. I just never truly got into the Marvel characters. I enjoyed what Marvel morsels I tasted, but I never established a tether to this universe like I did with DC.

You see, with DC, I had Batman. I got really into Batman (like really into him). I loved the character and his Dark Knight persona, ever since Batman: The Animated Series. Oh yes, you know the one. It was a great intro to the character for my young mind, and it serves as my anchor for all that I've ever come to love about comics. 

However, that show alone would not have given me the intro to DC I needed to jump right in after the New 52 started. Luckily, there was also The Justice League series. Crossing over from Batman: TAS, The Justice League took my love for Batman and used it to introduce me to an entire pantheon of caped crusaders. Without these two shows acting as my Dc Universe anchor, my love of DC Comics may have taken quite a bit longer to develop. 

My love for Marvel, however, has not been established. I have no anchor and no point through which to breach the shell of such a vast and varied universe. And even though the next big Marvel event, Secret Wars, is supposedly rebooting the universe, it would seem that it's to the extent of DC's Flashpoint event, after which much of the previous continuity was left intact. So I've gone to the internet in search of where to start my journey. It didn't take me long to find a mountain of suggestions, but one site provided more useful than any of the others: Comic Book Herald. 

This site has not only the most in-depth and detailed explanation of where to begin (and more importantly why), it also has fast track trade lists that can launch you into current events. However, what I love most about this "Reading Order" list is that the author takes into account that some of the most essential information is buried in the most atrocious comics, and he lets you know all about it before you go diving in. 

Yet, as good as this site and it's fast track lists are, I know myself too well. I'm going to want not only the essentials, but all of the soup that surrounds them. So, I've decided to start the complete 2000-Current guide with Part 1 (1999-2004), picking, choosing, and generally trimming off the fat of what I want to read based on the authors welcomed input. Now I know this means getting a lot of trades, and money will fly from my pockets if I try to get my hands on all of the material physically. Which leads me to Marvel Unlimited.

Marvel Unlimited, for those who don't know, is a platform on which Marvel uploads a large amount of their old material for users to read with a monthly subscription fee. It looks like a great service, and I honestly don't know why DC doesn't have something similar. Well, my plan is to subscribe to this service and read all of the Marvel stuff I want for just $10 per month. Not a bad price considering the rate at which I will likely read the stuff. Of course, this service does not include current issues; so this will be only a temporary subscription. I hope to be subscribed for no more than 3 months max. Then it's back to the drawing board for the 'ole pull list, but that's another day.
(Honestly I'm mostly drawn to the Marvel Cosmic corner of the universe. So I think my additions will end up being mostly Cosmic related titles. If I were to add Marvel titles right now I would go over my 15 main title limit by adding: Superior Iron Man, Guardians of the Galaxy, Nova, The Avengers, New Avengers, and whatever Deadpool is out currently.)

My hope is to be caught up in the Marvel Universe by the end of Secret Wars, which, from what I've found online, will last until the end of 2015. Whether or not this will be a good point to catch up to and jump on, I'll just have to wait and see.

For now, Marvel will have to wait as I'm still catching up on the New 52. I've read all of the Bat titles up until their either conclusion or intermission during the Convergence event, but there are still others that I'm behind on. Namely: Justice League, Justice League Dark, Justice League United, Constantine, Teen Titans, and Trinity of Sin. I'm more than halfway through on almost all of these (the exception is Teen Titans), and the Convergence event should give me time to catch up on all of these before my pull list starts pulling new issues. 

With all of this comic reading to do, I just don't know how I'll have time for anything else...

Creating a Pull List

The hardest part of getting into current comics, I've learned, is creating the Pull List. Which titles do you want to pay money for? Which ones could you do without? Which ones are you going to kick yourself for missing? Can you wait until the trade comes out, or are you collecting individual issues?

Honestly, it's all a shot in the dark. You can never know which titles are going to be good. Even when you know that a title has been good, there is no guarantee that it will continue to be good. So you don't know if something is worth your money until it's spent.

With this fact in mind, I have created two limits for myself. One is Quantity based, the other is Monetary based. I will refrain from exceeding either limit, or suffer the consequences of getting carried away in the long run. ("Death by a thousand cuts" was the perfect analogy that somebody recently threw my way.)

Quantity Limit: This is mostly setting a framework of what I should aim for. Honestly, I believe this limit should be more strict. However, I know that I'll end up wanting more leeway in the end. Undoubtably, this limit will end up being tweaked (reasonably, not on a "I really want one more book, so I'm changing my limit" basis), but for now, this is a good middle of the road goal to shoot for.

15 Main Titles

1 Event Series

1 Maxi-Series

1 Trade per month

(When applicable and always adhering to the Monetary Limit.)

Monetary Limit: This is the more reasonable of the two limits, and as noted above, this is what it comes down to in the end. If I got 10 titles, an event, and a maxi that I want all on the same day, I best hope they come out to be within my Monetary Limit. My cap is set at this amount, because it comes from outside of my paycheck. My bank card will not be used for this hobby; to do so would be signing my self up for dangerous circumstances. The prepaid card I will use is funded by going to the plasma center one a week. This will keep myself from cheating. Of course, there is the matter of rollover funds, but I'll try to stay away from that by taking most of the leftover money off the card at the grocery store.

< $30 per Week

Ok. So I've set my limits, and they may be high to some or low to others, but I'm being completely honest here: I have no clue what I'm doing! Haha, that about sums it up. The biggest point of reference that I have is the shop owner who said he, in his prime, was reading 70+ titles at once. I'm nowhere near that, and I think I'd like to keep it that way. All I know, is that I'm itching to read all the titles on my list, and from what I've been told, that's the overall goal. Only get what you have to, and only take chances when you can.

With all that said, my Pull List is located in the side bar. Clicking on the titles takes you all my posts on that title. (So only the Convergence link works right now.)

And yes, I know there isn't any Marvel on my list. I'll get to why that is in my next post.