Month: April 2024

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Comic Books & Graphic Novels DC Comics DC's Hardcovers & Trade Paperbacks

BATMAN – DETECTIVE COMICS, VOLUME 1: GOTHAM NOCTURNE – OVERTURE (DC Comics)

Written by Ram V & Simon Spurrier.

Art by Rafael Albuquerque; Dani; Dave Stewart; & Ariana Maher.

Collection Cover Art by Evan Cagle.

SUMMARY:

Released by DC Comics in 2023, this 152-page hardcover compiles 2022’s Detective Comics # 1062-1065.  Approaching midnight at the Gotham City docks, Batman’s routine clash with a gang of thugs has him worried why his timing is now inexplicably off. Worse yet, he senses something ominous has descended upon Gotham City. Brief consultations with Nightwing and a reformed Harvey Dent don’t ease Bruce Wayne’s mind.

Beyond being slowed by a combination of age and accumulated injuries, Bruce Wayne is now haunted by his own terrifying inner demon: Bar-Ba-Tos.  Its ongoing distraction risks costing Bruce his life.

Already rivals of Ra’s Al-Ghul’s League of Shadows, the Orghams, as foreign royalty, intend to stake its ancient claim upon Gotham City. First up is re-acquiring the decrepit remains of Arkham Asylum, which somehow has astronomical property value. Expecting the League’s ambush, the Orghams reciprocate with a vicious battle at the docks pinning down the outmatched police and media. Among the Orghams’ operatives is a psychopathic werewolf that even Talia’s fearsome bodyguard becomes easy prey for. 

Having baited Batman twice, Talia’s enigmatic presence in Gotham doesn’t clarify if she comes as a friend or foe.  Per a flashback, Talia reveals to young Damian Wayne their country’s ancient myth of the ‘Grim Soldier.’  Its outcome now impacts a present-day Gotham City’s bleak emergency mostly orchestrated by the Orghams.

Falling behind is a bewildered Dark Knight.  No matter his weariness, Batman must quickly catch up on the rules of a deadly game commenced between the League of Shadows and the Orghams.  With a cured Harvey Dent falling to the Orghams, Two-Face has resurfaced to take command of Gotham’s criminal underworld.  Designed as a gothic opera, Gotham Nocturne: Overture ends with an unconscious Dark Knight sidelined.  He is in no position to thwart the Orghams’ nefarious scheme.       

Related is a three-part back-up story entitled “Coda,” with deliberately murky artwork.  Now retired, an elderly James Gordon is prodded into searching Gotham City for a drug-addicted prostitute’s missing son.  His investigation leads to a grisly discovery within the ruins of Arkham Asylum and a mysterious young man hiding there.  Gordon’s arc later links with the Dark Knight’s subsequent return to the docks in Overture’s climax.  More so, the ex-Commissioner’s face-off with the mysterious demons now plaguing Gotham City set up his next post-retirement phase.

Starring Harvey Dent, another three-part back-up tale begins entitled “A Tale of Three Halves.”  Having been forcibly relapsed into his Two-Face persona, Dent’s tormented mind struggles with silencing his innocent psychiatrist at the Orghams’ behest.

Notes: Some sources inaccurately claim that this book is 232 pages; it is not – a manual tally confirms 152 pages.  This title is also available digitally; its trade paperback’s release is scheduled for July 2024.

REVIEW:

Anchored by high-caliber visuals, writer Ram V’s opening salvo makes for a potentially intriguing read. Other than James Gordon, Two-Face, and cameos by Nightwing, Damian Wayne, and Renee Montoya, it’s quite noticeable that the Bat-Family and other supporting cast members aren’t included. 

More so, with Bruce Wayne sidetracked by mental problems, the humorless Volume 1 focuses less on Batman and more on his multitude of current adversaries.  To Ram V’s credit, he isn’t telegraphing future plot twists, but this storyline’s surplus of operatic self-indulgence can be grating on readers.  Hence, its pretentious tone doesn’t necessarily make one want to seek out Volume 2.

Batman – Detective Comics, Volume 1: Gotham Nocturne – Overture clearly isn’t meant to engage casual readers.  For die-hard adult Bat-fans, however, this first installment likely stirs the pot enough to keep them tuned in.  

ADDITIONAL CONTENT:

In a full-page format preceding each story is a variant cover: # 1062 {1:25} (by Innhyuk Lee); # 1063 {1:25} (by Amano Yoshitaka, though it is credited within the story as ‘Martin Simmonds’); # 1064 {1:25} (by Martin Simmonds); and # 1065 {1:25} (by Simmonds). 

Afterwards, in a full-page variant cover gallery, these covers appear:

  • # 1062 (1. Lee Bermejo 2. Julian Totino Tedesco; 3. J.H. Williams III; and 4. {1:50} Williams III);
  • # 1063 (1. Jim Lee, Scott Williams, & Alex Sinclair; 2. Lee (pencil sketch); and 3. Drew Zucker;
  • # 1064 (1. Jay Anacleto & Arif Prianto {Harley Quinn 30th Anniversary}; 2. Williams III; and 3. Williams III {1:50 Foil};
  • # 1065 (1. Lee, Williams, & Sinclair; and 2. Lee).

There is also a promotional two-page spread by Rafael Albuquerque, which is followed two pages of his character sketch designs.  Then, there is a single page from Ram V’s script for Issue # 1062’s pages 4-5.  Next is a single panel by Albuquerque and Dave Stewart, as it evolves through two additional stages into full color.  The final extra are four logo designs by artist Darran Robinson.

BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING:                     6 Stars

Categories
Comic Books & Graphic Novels DC Comics DC's Hardcovers & Trade Paperbacks

SUPERMAN: SPACE AGE (DC Comics)

Written by Mark Russell.  

Art by Michael Allred; Laura Allred; & Dave Sharpe.

Collection Cover Art by Michael Allred & Laura Allred.

SUMMARY:

Released by DC Comics in 2023, this 264-page hardcover compiles 2022-23’s Superman: Space Age # 1-3.  Per the onset of 1985’s Crisis on Infinite Earths, the Superman of Earth 203495-B sadly realizes that his universe’s annihilation by the Anti-Monitor has commenced. 

In a flashback to the fateful November of 1963, farmer Clark Kent of Smallville, Kansas, decides it’s time to reveal his existence after President Kennedy’s shocking assassination.  With the United States and Russia agitated to the brink of war, Clark’s naivete ironically almost causes World War III.  After fighter pilot Hal Jordan shoots Clark down as an ‘UFO,’ the future Man of Steel discovers his Fortress of Solitude at the North Pole.

In 1964, Clark joins The Daily Planet as a rookie reporter and gradually develops a friendship with his colleague, Lois Lane.  Meanwhile, industrial rivals Bruce Wayne and Lex Luthor pursue a vital U.S. defense contract to build the country’s future war strategy.  Outmaneuvering Wayne, Luthor’s chilling arrogance soon precipitates the nuclear annihilation of Coast City.  Superman and Wayne’s Batman unknowingly aid each other in averting another close call with World War III.  Luthor is sent to prison for mass murder for the next two decades. 

In the subsequent years, a Justice League forms, though no one realizes that its most secretive member is their benefactor: Bruce Wayne.  While Lois becomes the guiding light exposing Watergate, Clark’s encounters at a Metropolis bar finds him in sporadic contact with Pariah.  Despite Clark’s skepticism, Pariah matter-of-factly prophesizes that the world is doomed in a matter of years, due to the Anti-Monitor. 

In the meantime, Clark and Lois finally acknowledge their mutual love and marry.  Both have previously acknowledged being influenced by their fathers’ own wartime experiences.  Lois and Clark soon have a young son: Jonathan, raising him at the Fortress with help from Jor-El’s hologram.

In Gotham City, Bruce Wayne’s ironic feud with his own corrupted company tips his beloved Gotham City’s breaking point.  Subsequent clashes with Maxwell Lord and the Joker may prove too much for even Batman.  Considering the Justice League’s tragic encounter with Brainiac, Superman realizes his Earth’s time is now rapidly running out.  It’s up to him to make a desperate bid to save humanity, even as a gloating Lex Luthor returns to the free world.  Meanwhile, an expanded Justice League makes a last stand in Washington, D.C., without either a Man of Steel or a Dark Knight.

Elsewhere, the Superman of Earth 832654-Z is again the lone survivor of his planet – it’s conveyed by a collection of Brainiacs that this depleted Earth might still stand a partial chance of survival.  With humanity forever lost, this other Superman grimly awaits any cosmic sign that his existence isn’t for nothing. 

Note: This title is also available digitally; its trade paperback edition is set for release in 2025.

REVIEW:

Visually, Michael Allred and Laura Allred’s low-key artwork is far more endearing than it is aesthetically impressive.  Still, their simplistic visuals provide an ideal accompaniment to the storyline’s heartbreaking content, making Superman: Space Age a DC must-read. 

Apart from ingeniously spinning off Crisis on Infinite Earths in a historical narrative reminiscent of Forrest Gump, writer Mark Russell devises a down-to-earth brand of storytelling.  Though his Batman and Justice League are glaring underachievers (in comparison to DC’s primary versions), Russell’s take on this alternate-reality Superman and Lois Lane’s maturing bond is a treat to explore.

Russell’s balance of poignancy and a bleak plot isn’t without fault, however.  For instance, the main characters’ aging over twenty-two years doesn’t make much sense from the get-go (i.e. how is Clark a ‘teen’ as he claims in 1963, but Bruce and Lois are evidently twenty-somethings? Or how could Lois then only be 28 at the time of Watergate?).  It’s one of several questions in plain sight that Russell doesn’t address. 

Case in point: Why isn’t Supergirl (or even a Krypto) in this reality? Why wouldn’t Martha Kent be with Clark’s family come the world’s end?  Why doesn’t Russell divulge the fate of seven abducted Gotham City children?  Lastly, why is this Justice League’s mindset so ridiculously passive for years awaiting a cosmic cataclysm?  Even with such plot holes, Russell’s tale still makes a gripping read. 

The Space Age Superman’s fate presents, in effect, a timeless philosophy lesson.  The conveyance of hope as merging one’s inner peace with selfless bravery – even in the face of imminent death – makes an apt analogy for the human spirit’s resiliency. Russell and the Allreds offer a thought-provoking exploration of a doomed world (echoing Krypton) where super-powers can’t surpass reality’s worst nightmares. If anything, this Space Age Superman’s solution for saving his beloved world leaves room for some thoughtful debate, as to what actually constitutes life after death.      

Another argument is that DC Comics’ crass reliance upon style (and even sleaze) over substance has been its own worst enemy for nearly forty years since the first company-wide Crisis.  Fittingly enough, this nostalgic tribute to its Silver Age/Bronze Age is a reminder that DC Comics can still generate excellent work.  A gem like Superman: Space Age delivers welcome proof.  

ADDITIONAL CONTENT:

All three Michael Allred & Laura Allred covers are included in a full-page format.  In a full-page cover gallery, there are variants for Issue # 1 (1. Michael Allred; 2. Nick Derington; and 3. Steve Rude); Issue # 2 (1. Derington; and 2. Dave Johnson); and Issue # 3 (1. Derington – a Dean Cain homage; and 2. Joe Quinones – a Superman III homage). 

Also included are Michael Allred’s black-and-white cover and sketch work; and the Allreds’ full-page Action Comics # 1050 variant cover.  The last page is an advertisement for other DC works by Mark Russell.   

BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING:                8 Stars

Note: Another thoughtful Superman title worth discovery is 2004’s Superman: Secret Identity (written by Kurt Busiek).  In an alternate reality reminiscent of DC’s original Earth-Prime, this Clark Kent/Superman ages in real time during his life’s journey.

Categories
Blu-Ray DVD/Blu-Ray Extra Fantasy, Horror, & Science Fiction Movies & Television (Videos)

THE TERMINATOR (1984)

SUMMARY:                  RUNNING TIME: 1 Hr., 47 Min.

Released in 1984 by Orion Pictures, James Cameron directed this Hemdale/Pacific Western production off a script he had co-written with his then-wife (and the film’s producer), Gale Anne Hurd.

In Los Angeles of 2029, a nuclear holocaust decades before has devastated humanity.  Eradicating the remaining pockets of human resistance is the monstrous artificial intelligence, Skynet.  Its high-tech, robotic army of ‘Machines’ include ruthless androids packing laser blasters are designed to infiltrate and destroy humanity from within by posing as one of them.  These superhuman and virtually indestructible cyborgs are dubbed ‘Terminators,’ as their kill-only programming can neither be bargained nor reasoned with. 

To eliminate its greatest threat: the pivotal resistance leader, John Connor, Skynet’s experimental technology sends a Terminator (Schwarzenegger) back to the Los Angeles of 1984.  Its mission is to exterminate Connor’s unsuspecting, future mother: Sarah (Hamilton).  For a seemingly one-way suicide mission, Connor’s best and most trusted friend, commando Kyle Reese (Biehn), volunteers to follow and protect Sarah, as best he can. Once marooned in 1984, both the Terminator and Reese must then rely upon present-day weaponry in battling one another.  

It’s up to Reese to desperately improvise a fleeing defense in saving an incredulous Sarah from her worst possible nightmare.  Caught up in this mass-homicide showdown are civilians and Los Angeles cops, unaware that the first sign of the nuclear apocalypse has arrived in the form of the Terminator.  

                                       Primary Cast

Sarah J. Connor: Linda Hamilton

The Terminator: Arnold Schwarzenegger

Kyle Reese: Michael Biehn

Lt. Ed Traxler (LAPD): Paul Winfield

Vukovich (LAPD): Lance Henriksen

Dr. Peter Silberman: Earl Boen

Ginger: Bess Motta

Matt: Rick Rossovich

Nancy: Shawn Schepps

Gun Shop Clerk: Dick Miller

2nd Terminator (2029): Franco Columbu

Sarah Connor # 1: Marianne Muellerleile

LAPD Desk Sergeant: Bruce M. Kerner

LAPD Patrol Officer: William Wisher (who contributed dialogue and later co-scripted 1991’s T2: Judgment Day)

LAPD Cops: Ken Fritz, Tom Oberhaus, & Ed Dogans

LAPD Station Cops: Uncredited

Derelict: Stan Yale

Gas Station Attendant (Mexico): Tony Mirelez

Mexican Children: Anthony J. Trujillo & Philip Gordon

Sarah’s Mother (voice only): Uncredited

Resistance Members (2029): Uncredited

Punks: Bill Paxton, Brad Rearden, and Brian Thompson.

REVIEW:

For the Terminator’s 40th Anniversary, there probably isn’t anything new to be said applauding this game-changing 1984 film for standing the test of time – pardon the expression. 

In comparison to the franchise’s innumerable and mostly unnecessary sequels (not to mention, a sub-genre of inferior imitators), the phrase, ‘simple yet sophisticated,’ comes to mind.  Working off a modest budget (an estimated $6.4 million), virtually every vital component of The Terminator’s production ranges from above-average to superb for its era: special effects; Brad Fiedel’s pulsating, metallic-like score; acting; and, above all, the story’s cohesive structure. 

While the film’s VFX limitations are occasionally exposed (i.e. distorted close-ups depicting the Terminator’s damaged face; and the hokey puppetry passing for Stan Winston’s Terminator metallic endoskeleton), the ensemble cast’s efforts selling the plot easily makes up any difference.  Beyond the immense credit that writer/director James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger deserve, Linda Hamilton herself puts forth an MVP-caliber performance. 

Along with a game Hamilton, an underrated Michael Biehn certainly merits recognition for a job well done. Biehn effectively imbues his sole franchise appearance (aside from Reese’s discarded T2 scene) with an aura of plausible desperation the film needs and takes full advantage of.  Additional kudos go to Earl Boen’s ultra-cynical psychiatrist and, ever subtly, Paul Winfield’s low-key cop for further pushing The Terminator’s outlandish premise into believable sci-fi. 

Understandably, the film’s surplus of grisly and glamorized violence will be a turn-off to some viewers.  Yet, the messiah-inspired storyline that Cameron and his then-wife (and producer), Gale Anne Hurd, devised is still brilliantly implemented.  In his most menacing and iconic on-screen persona, Schwarzenegger (buoyed by Hamilton and Biehn’s terrific support) visualizes the Cameron/Hurd story into one of the best sci-fi/horror thrillers ever made.  It’s simple as that.       

ADDITIONAL CONTENT:

This High-Definition Blu-Ray’s technical specifications are: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; alternatively, the options are Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 and French DTS 5.1.  Subtitles are available in English SDH, Spanish, and French.  The viewing perspective is Widescreen 1.85:1.

Among the seven deleted scenes provided, two are particularly intriguing.  One entitled “Lt. Traxler’s Arc” is a montage of quick Paul Winfield scenes excluded from the theatrical cut, including a final exchange between Sarah, Reese, and a wounded Traxler.  More so, the “Sarah Fights Back” explores material that foreshadows Sarah’s preemptive attack against Cyberdyne Systems (Skynet’s precursor) prior to 1991’s T2: Judgment Day.

There is also a vignette: Creating The Terminator, which discusses the creation of its visual effects and Brad Fiedel’s instrumental score.  Evidently produced prior to the 1991 sequel, the Terminator: A Retrospective vignette intercuts footage from the original film with clips of Cameron and Schwarzenegger casually reminiscing in a sit-down discussion and a separate Cameron interview.    

BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING:                  9 Stars

Categories
Blu-Ray DVD/Blu-Ray Extra Fantasy, Horror, & Science Fiction Movies & Television (Videos)

PREY (2022)

SUMMARY:               RUNNING TIME: 1 Hr., 40 Min.

Released by 20th Century Studios in 2022, Dan Trachtenberg directed this Lawrence Gordon/Davis Entertainment Company production off a script by Patrick Aison.  Aison and Trachtenberg had co-written the original story devised as a prequel to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s original 1987 Predator film.

In the Great Northern Plains of 1719, a Predator (DiLiegro) is dropped off on Earth seeking local adversaries worthy of battle.  Unlike its future successors, this Predator’s technology appears somewhat less sophisticated; nonetheless, such alien weaponry still far surpasses arrows, spears, and rudimentary guns.  In addition to a metallic shield, other devices this Predator deploys include a laser targeting device and a stealth cloaking field to generate invisibility.    

Meanwhile, the Commanche Nation’s young Naru (Midthunder), a young medicine woman in her late teens or early twenties, desires to prove her equality.  Foremost, she prefers being a hunter despite the scoffing male peers of her tribe.  Helping retrieve a wounded tribal member overnight, a wounded Naru is the first to sense that something fearsome and evil is lurking out there on the Plains.  Her instincts determine it’s neither a lion nor a bear, but something infinitely more dangerous.  Yet, even Naru’s solder brother, Taabe (Beavers), dismisses such vague suspicions as likely a figment of her imagination.        

Naru seeks her culture’s ancient hunting rite reserved for males: to be both predator and prey against a formidable quarry.  Intending to protect her tribe, Naru and her faithful canine, Sarii (Coco), set out on her fateful destiny to find and destroy the monster.

On her quest, she survives a quicksand bog and later evades a mauling death from a ferocious bear.  Yet, both the bear and previously a wolf are no match for the Predator’s own intense savagery.  Located by Taabe’s search party, Naru’s extraordinary claims of what she has recently witnessed are again dismissed and/or met with wary skepticism. 

Both the Commanche search party and a nefarious French hunting expedition are subsequently decimated in battle.  Witnessing the Predator destroy wave after wave of human challengers, Naru realizes that sheer numbers and conventional weapons aren’t the answer.  It’s up to her to improvise an unexpected yet insightful means of attack.  Naru’s fate will be decided by a last desperate showdown after nightfall with her prey. 

                                     Primary Cast:

Naru: Amber Midthunder

Taabe: Dakota Beavers

Predator: Dane DiLiegro

Aruka: Michelle Thrush

Wasape: Stormee Kipp

Sarii: Coco

Waxed Moustache: Nelson Leis

Big Beard: Mike Paterson

Raphael: Bennett Taylor

Sumu: Stephany Mathias

Chief Kehetu: Julian Black Antelope

Commanche Tribal Members: Corvin Mack; Harlan Blayne Kytwayhat; Skye Pelletier; Samiyah Crowfoot; Seanna Eagletail; Tymon Carter; Ginger Cattleman; & Samuel Marty

Additional Commanche Tribal Member: Uncredited

Additional French Trappers: Uncredited.

REVIEW:

Starting with 1990’s Predator 2, the franchise’s bloodthirsty formula became increasingly unimaginative over the next three decades.  These lazy thrill rides (much like Schwarzenegger’s other iconic franchise, The Terminator) opted to peddle convoluted shoot-em-up’s where grisly, sci-fi action was evidently the sole justification.  Yet, writer-director Dan Trachtenberg would ingeniously devise an ideal follow-up to 1987’s Predator.  In this instance, his prequel re-imagines the ‘thrill of the hunt,’ as an instinctive urge to overcome one’s own worst fears surpasses macho glory.      

With actress Amber Midthunder as his reliable lead, Trachtenberg’s Prey fulfills a void few filmmakers would have imagined: a sci-fi/horror thriller set inside a historical period piece.  Perhaps it isn’t coincidental that the Canadian forest scenery and a vaguely similar instrumental score are often reminiscent of 1992’s Last of the Mohicans.  This same kind of timeless adventure vibe works for Naru’s hunt.  

Off-note is some fairly obvious CGI enhancing the scenic Canadian backdrops.  The Predator’s fight choreography also appears too predictably intricate.  Hence, Prey continue a dubious franchise tradition of demonstrating a cool multitude of ways the alien can easily eviscerate its victims.  Trachtenberg at least tactfully keeps much of this icky carnage at a distance or partially off-screen.  Lastly, Midthunder’s impressive martial arts scenes come off as implausible for a petite woman’s self-defense versus multiple attackers three centuries ago.  Given the film production’s complexities, such minimal quibbles mean Trachtenberg’s well-structured and mostly original plot succeeds, as intended.

Ultimately, Trachtenberg and a game Midthunder ensure that their Prey is mighty good for the story it tells.  

ADDITIONAL CONTENT:

This High-Definition Blu-Ray’s technical specifications are English 7.1. DTS-HDMA, 2.0 Dolby Digital Descriptive Audio, Spanish and French 5.1 Dolby Digital.  Subtitles are available in English SDH, Spanish, French; additionally, a full-length Commanche audio track is included.  An optional audio commentary track includes director Dan Trachtenberg; actress Amber Midthunder; film editor Angel M. Catanzaro; and the film’s director of photography, Jeff Cutter.  

The bonus features consist of:

  • a “Making of Prey” vignette;
  • three deleted scenes (including an alternate opening scene), with Trachtenberg’s voiceover explanations;
  • reminiscent of Comic-Con, there is a Prey “FYC (For Your Consideration)” Panel Discussion including Trachtenberg, Midthunder, and other key production members.

BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING:                     8½ Stars

Categories
Agatha Christie-Related Books & Novels Mystery & Suspense

TOMMY & TUPPENCE BERESFORD # 3: N OR M?

Written by Agatha Christie

SUMMARY:

Released in both the U.S. and the U.K. in 1941, N or M? is Agatha Christie’s third novel depicting married British adventurers Tommy & Tuppence Beresford.  Among its subsequent reprints, Penguin Group, Inc.’s Signet imprint released N or M? as a mass market edition in 2000.  In terms of the franchise’s continuity timetable, N or M? is set approximately twenty years after the episodic events of Partners in Crime.      

Note: The “Tommy & Tuppence” series also consists of: The Secret Adversary (1922); Partners in Crime (1929); By the Pricking of My Thumbs (1968); and, lastly, Postern of Fate (1973). 

Aside from successfully raising twins, Derek and Deborah, into adulthood, it isn’t revealed what else Agatha Christie’s patriotic detective couple has pursued in the interim.  With World War II raging on in Western Europe, Tommy & Tuppence Beresford (now in their mid-forties) have been rejected from the British war effort, essentially due to age discrimination.  With a new generation (including their own children) fighting this war, Tommy and Tuppence find they have too little to do fulfilling their ‘empty nest’ phase in life.   

A British spy’s unsolved homicide necessitates a back-channel invitation to Tommy to rejoin British Intelligence.  Aware that the Nazis are systemically infiltrating the United Kingdom to organize a subsequent invasion, the British Secret Service’s upper echelon senses it, too, has likely been breached. 

Needing a trusted face who has been ‘off the grid’ for years, the Service’s Mr. Grant sends in an undercover Tommy to probe a low-key seaside village, Leahampton.  It is suspected that two shadowy Nazi conspirators dubbed ‘N’ and ‘M’ (one man and one woman) are somehow linked to the local Sans Souci Hotel.  Covertly overhearing what Grant and Tommy intend to do, Tuppence opts to make this mission a joint invitation. 

Posing separately as the widowed ‘Mrs. Blenkensop’ and widower ‘Mr. Meadowes,’ the Beresfords infiltrate the middle-class Sans Souci Hotel. Their new neighbors include: a middled-aged couple – The Cayleys; an embittered German refugee – Carl von Deinim; Mrs. Sprot and her playful toddler, Betty; crochety Major Bletchley; a spinster – Miss Minton; and the hotel’s manager, Mrs. Perenna, with her outspoken daughter, Sheila.  All too predictably, the hotel’s residents exhibit varying degrees of patriotic antipathy towards Germany. Also, living nearby is retired Commander Haydock, who gladly shares tales of how his cliffside home had once housed a German spy ring.       

Accumulating evidence of ransacked rooms, eavesdropped phone calls, a woman’s violent death, and a missing girl, Tuppence and Tommy uneasily conclude that their sting operation is rattling their unknown adversaries.  More so, it’s apparent that eliminating pesky nuisances is a task that neither ‘N’ or ‘M’ have any qualms with. After Tommy ominously disappears from sight, a worried ‘Mrs. Blekensop’ must rely upon an old friend for some emergency help. With time now running out, Tuppence redoubles her efforts to bring the Sans Souci enigma to a definitive end. 

REVIEW:

N or M? initially presents an intriguing whatever-happened-to-Tommy & Tuppence? premise.  More so, this storyline is consistent with the Beresfords’ established personalities, as to why they would jump at the chance to rejoin British Intelligence, if and when called upon.  Amidst wartime spy games, Christie has imbued the middle-aged Beresfords with a plausible sense of real-time evolution.  It’s a commendable literary trait that neither of Christie’s most famous creations, Hercule Poirot and Ms. Jane Marple, ever attained.     

Yet, the Beresfords are hampered by a surplus of unsurprising irony.  Spry, tongue-in-cheek entertainment emanating from the couple’s youthful, post-World War I escapades remains timeless – a century ago, Tommy & Tuppence became the genre template for romantic detective duos.  After stoking a few promising chapters, N or M?, unfortunately, initiates their franchise’s slide towards midlife tedium.    

Such disappointment mostly lies with N or M’s far too methodical take on espionage capers.  The plot’s machinations, in other words, unnecessarily unfold at a tortoise’s pace.  One could argue that Christie’s patient storytelling isn’t cheating her readers, as opposed to churning out a fast-paced, shallow potboiler leaving no impact.  The problem is really more such dull execution of this mystery where long stretches go by with little to no progress.      

For instance, far too much ink is allotted to the Beresfords’ cover identities: how many times does Christie really need to address Tuppence by her ‘Mrs. Blenkensop’ alias?  Or how often must Tuppence discuss her cover story’s fictional sons with various Sans Souci housemates?  For that matter, how many jabbing reminders of the Beresfords as restless empty-nesters are sufficient?  Aside from the British Intelligence contact, Mr. Grant, an absence of interesting suspects merely exacerbates a slow read.

One component, however, that N or M? excels at is depicting Tuppence’s remarkable competence as a veteran detective.  Her undercover sequences subtly deploying traps baiting Sans Souci’s possible moles implies someone with formal spy training.  The same applies to a late sequence where she grimly stares down the threat of excruciating torture by a Nazi captor.  The fact that she is the same Tuppence previously defined by flighty impulsiveness, intuitive reasoning, and a flamboyant hat collection makes such scenes a treat to read.  As the novel’s MVP, Tuppence’s climatic heroism compensates for her husband’s bland characterization and minimal plot contributions.

Lastly, in addition to a nice introduction, Christie ensures that readers are bookended by a satisfying climax and conveniently happy epilogue.  It just leaves one with a shrug or sigh that a lackluster mystery is stuck in between them.  For that reason, the middling N or M? makes a practical bedtime read, as far as facilitating drowsiness.        

ADDITIONAL FEATURES:

There is a sparse, single-page Christie bio.   

BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING:                    4 Stars

Categories
Comic Books & Graphic Novels DC Comics

SUPERMAN/BATMAN # 61 (2009 DC Comics)

Written by Michael Green & Mike Johnson.

Art by Francis Manapul; Brian Buccellato; & Rob Leigh.

Cover Art by Francis Manapul & Brian Buccellato.

SUMMARY:

Entitled “Mash-Up, Part 2,” DC Comics released this issue for August 2009, which concludes the tale starting in Issue # 60.  Previously, Batman and Superman had joined forces with the youthful Justice Titans amalgams in Gothamopolis.  It had been revealed that two other super-teams in this ‘dream world’ had been tragically killed in battle against Doomstroke in Metro City. 

Meanwhile, the secret opposition of the Justice Titans is Lex Joker’s high-priced mercenaries: the Brotherhood of Injustice.  In addition to Doomstroke, there are these criminal amalgams taken from Batman and Superman’s supporting casts: Brainycat; Penguello; Jimmy Two-Face; the Ventrilomaker; Lana Quinn; and a traitorous Titans insider.

Analyzing forensic evidence taken from Doomstroke, Batman is close to confirming his suspicions regarding the villain behind this ‘dream world’ and, more ominously, why.  A midnight raid on the Justice Titans Tower finds Batman, Superman, and their new allies attacked by Lex Joker’s mercenaries. 

Having deduced Lex Joker’s enigmatic true self, the Dark Knight realizes that survival is imminently linked to a stone statue of the Titans’ late sorceress: Ravanna.  To escape this lethal ‘dream’ intact, the World’s Finest Duo now desperately needs help from the outside world in waking up.    

Notes: This issue is available digitally.  Issues # 60 and # 61 were subsequently collected for Superman/Batman: Night and Day in hardcover, trade paperback, and digital formats.  Most recently, these two issues were re-released as part of the Superman/Batman, Volume 5 anthology (consisting of Issues # 50-63) which is also available digitally.

REVIEW:

As with Issue # 60, the conclusion of “Mash-Up” presents both an engaging script and first-rate visuals.  To the co-writers’ credit, they don’t dwell on the oddball amalgams so much, but more on how Batman & Superman perceive them.  Yet, what separates this issue’s climax from another ordinary Superman/Batman team-up is a welcome injection of poignancy. 

Occasionally teased in Detective Comics, the personal bond between childhood friends Batman and Zatanna Zatara briefly explores here an extra twist that is well-played.  The same applies to the last two pages, as the World’s Finest Duo ponders if an old Justice League foe, no matter how deeply sedated, has finally unlocked their secret identities.  “Mash-Up,” in that regard, ends with a sinister tease making perfect sense for a potential sequel.   

Impressively, Superman/Batman # 61 delivers on all creative counts, making it worthy of re-discovery.             

ADDITIONAL CONTENT:

DC’s Senior Story Editor, Ian Sattler, pens the “DC Nation” memo.  The Daily Planet supplies five pages of press releases and artwork hyping ‘The Red Circle:’ a reboot of DC’s short-lived Impact Comics (updated takes on Archie Comics super-heroes).      

BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING:                       7 Stars

Categories
Comic Books & Graphic Novels DC Comics

SUPERMAN/BATMAN # 60 (2009 DC Comics)

Written by Michael Green & Mike Johnson.

Art by Francis Manapul; Brian Buccellato & Rob Leigh.

Cover Art by Francis Manapul & Brian Buccellato.

SUMMARY:

Entitled “Mash-Up, Part 1,” DC Comics released this issue for July 2009.  One night, Batman and Superman are perplexed finding themselves under fire from the city’s SWAT Team, with Police Commissioner Perry White in command.  Somehow trapped inside a composite of Metropolis and Gotham City, the World’s Finest Duo are then confronted by the strangely familiar Justice Titans, who are ready to fight. 

Briefly facing Superman and Batman in battle, these youthful amalgams consist of: Star Canary; AquaBorg (Arthur Stone); HawkBeast (Gar Katar); Night Lantern (Hal Grayson); Donna Wonder (Diana Troy); and the Flash (Wally Allen).  Another member later appears: the quirky teenage girl android, Terranado, whom the Dark Knight is instantly wary of.   

Headquartered in Gothamopolis, the Justice Titans are skeptical of Batman and Superman’s ‘dream world’ hypothesis.  Yet, the fearsome might of Doomstroke nearly overwhelms them all.  Soon afterwards, the diabolical boss of this Doomsday/Deathstroke amalgam is revealed.  This two-part storyline concludes in Issue # 61.    

Notes: This issue is available digitally.  Issues # 60 and # 61 were subsequently collected for Superman/Batman: Night and Day in hardcover, trade paperback, and digital formats.  Most recently, these two issues were re-released as part of the Superman/Batman, Volume 5 anthology (consisting of Issues # 50-63) which is also available digitally.

REVIEW:

The first half of “Mash-Up” makes for a predictably fun read.  Issue # 60, in that sense, welcomes an intriguing script (even with few surprises) and first-rate visuals that shouldn’t disappoint fans.  Hence, finding out what happens in the next issue certainly makes good sense.  The ultra-stylish Detective Comics excerpt supplies a welcome bonus.     

ADDITIONAL CONTENT:

From writer Greg Rucka and artists JH Williams III; Dave Stewart; and Todd Klein, there is a five-page, color preview of Detective Comics # 854: “Elegy, Part One.” The slickly produced excerpt’s star is Kate Kane’s Batwoman.  Lastly, the “DC Nation” memo is from DC’s Senior VP/Executive Editor, Dan DiDio.       

BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING:                    6½ Stars