New Comics Day - October 10th, 2012. A big day for the big two.

   Today is new comics day! As always you can check over at ComicList for a complete rundown of new releases. Today is a big day for the big two. Find out why after the jump.

Dynamic Duo Review - Batman #11 and Batman and Robin #11

 Batman #11
Written by Scott Snyder
Art by Greg Capullo

It's all been building up to this. For the better part of a year, Scott Snyder's bestselling book has put Bruce Wayne through the ringer, culminating with the reveal that he could possibly have a long lost brother. Thomas Wayne Jr. aka Lincoln March is the beak of the Court of the Owls. He claims to have been abandoned by the Waynes and is here to reclaim his city.  The book is fast paced with huge set pieces, delivering a brutal fight between Batman and what seems to be the new incarnation of Owl Man. This makes sense as Owl Man was Bruce's evil doppelganger from another world.

Greg Capullo is on top of his game here with his somewhat dark, murkier pallet still achieving a vibrant, animated quality. His Batman is tired and fed up with March showing no signs of quitting until the end.

I'm sure we have not seen the last of the Court of the Owls or Lincoln March. There is a nice moment between Bruce and Dick after it's all said and done. It just adds on to the mystery of whether or not Lincoln is actually Thomas Jr. This run has been a roller coaster ride, and now we are heading back up the slope as Snyder prepares to reintroduce The Joker into the New 52. Batman is constantly a must read and I hope Scott stays on for a while. He's kept the universe fresh and exciting since he's been given the reigns. 

Batman and Robin #11
Written by Peter J. Tomasi
Art by Patrick Gleason

This issue starts off strong, continuing with Damian's plan to take out all the previous Robin's, proving he's the best. I love Damian. He's possibly my favorite character in comics right now. The audacity of leaving a crow bar in Jason Todd's bed is one of those things that lets you know he's screwing around, but he's not. After Damian is through putting Jason through an exercise in tolerance, the story begins to go downhill as a ton of nobodies begin branding the citizens of Gotham with the bat logo. This is all part of some grand scheme by Terminus who was introduced last issue. We're no closer to figuring anything out about this villain as things just get whackier and whackier.

Patrick Gleason's layouts are ballin' in this issue and most of his scenes are rendered beautifully. There are some odd faces and expressions littered throughout, though, making it seemed rushed. I would really like to have a print of Damian riding around with the Red Hood's helmet as a hood ornament.

This story arc has seemed to veer away from the personal conflict of the first eight issues in favor of traditional super hero flare. I hope they will get back to the heart of the new direction of this book; the relationship between Bruce and Damian. The issue is worth it for the Damian and Jason brawl at the beginning, but there's not really much else to get excited about.

Quickfire DC Comics Reviews- Batman, Batman and Robin, Superboy

Batman #10

Written by Scott Synder

Art by Greg Capullo

“Night of the Owls” reaches its boiling point with a huge reveal this week that could change Bruce Wayne’s life forever. Snyder’s been building up to this moment since his first issue of the relaunched title. This story, while only running for the past year, is every bit as ambitious and mythos redefining as anything Grant Morrison has done to Batman in the past few years. This is why the Batman titles have been consistently awesome. Amazing writers actually progressing the character and his world. The tension is high as the reveal builds up. Greg Capullo is spot on as usual. His dark, gritty looking art was a perfect fit for this book. Awesome read.

Read my reviews for Batman and Robin #10 and Superboy #10 after the jump.

Batman Annual #1 Review

Batman Annual #1 hits just shy of the one year anniversary of the relaunched DC Universe. There has been a lot of confusion as to the status of several Bat-characters and the timeline of the bat-books. This annual serves to reintroduce Mr. Freeze into the DCU with a few changes in store.

We start off with a thirty year flashback as a young Victor Fries walks with his mother across a snowy field. Only it’s not just a snowy field; it’s a frozen body of water. Victor’s mother disappears under the ice but is recovered according to Victor, who is now speaking with a therapist in Arkham Asylum. As one could guess, Mr. Freeze makes his escape and goes on a murderous rampage until he’s out of the facility. He goes a little Sub-Zero on everyone, even using a breath attack that I don’t believe I’ve ever seen. He inhales an ice blast and blows it out of his mouth. We’ll pretend he could always do that, but his helmet prevented it.

Freeze pays a visit to the Penguin, who is not happy that Victor neglects to walk through the front door and instead drives through it. He retrieves his weapons from Oswald and sets out for vengeance on Bruce Wayne. There is another flashback that enters familiar territory as Fries was a scientist (this time working for Wayne Enterprises) employee who was researching cryogenics in the hopes of curing Nora.

There is a welcome appearance by Nightwing(I still don’t dig the red and black) and Robin, which is a nice nod to their partnership prior to the New52 launch. I love these two together, but Freeze gets the best of them before a final confrontation with Batman that reveals a new twist to his story. It takes the origin established by Paul Dini in BTAS, which has been one of the best contributions from the series, and flips it into an unexpected place. I’m not sure if I enjoy it because of the things it takes away from Freeze. It definitely puts him into crazy villain territory.

Jason Fabok brings down the house with great art throughout the issue and Peter Steigerwald’s blue palette with the occasional splash of color fits the tone of the story. I enjoyed this team throughout the book.

The redesign of Mr. Freeze is pretty great as well. I love the strip of hair on top and his less-armored look gives him the feel of being more of a physical threat than just another “two-bit gadget villain from Gotham City” as Hal Jordan would put it.(If you got that reference, then good for you!)

This oversized issue was welcome as a nice diversion from the ongoing “Night of the Owls” storyline running through all the bat-books. Although mentioned, and Freeze plays a direct part in the Court’s plan, there are no Talons to be seen, and it’s a good thing.  I’ll be glad for Scott Snyder to jump back into the established Batman playground and maybe re-tool some of the other rogues.

Verdict: Solid book all around.