When DC launched the "New 52" a lot of people were wondering what would happen with Grant Morrison's Batman epic Batman, Inc., the controversial new series that saw Bruce Wayne "franchising" out Batman, creating a literal army for the entire world. Despite some of my criticisms of to how "in character" this move was, Batman, Inc. was for the most part enjoyable, and with this one-shot we finally get some closure on the first part of the bigger "Leviathan" story.
Leviathan Strikes is essentially the final two issues of Morrison's Batman, Inc. storyline, which is apparent from the fact that both stories included in this beefy one-shot aren't connected much at all. The first story, which feature art from the great Cameron Stewart, features the Stephanie Brown Batgirl's investigation of a British all-girl prep school. If you haven't guessed already, the events in these two stories take place pre-"New 52", and while we don't get any details about what's happened to Stephanie, the story is still very entertaining, and presented the character in a great way. This was my first time reading anything featuring Stephanie, and I was really impressed with her as a character. Stewart's art is phenomenal in this story. It has just enough detail, but still has a cartoon-like quality to it. To say I'm a fan of his art is an understatement to be honest. Morrison's script is pretty straight forward as well. I like Morrison, but I hate when he gets too "out there", as I feel like he's someone who comes up with great ideas, but sometimes has trouble reigning them in for the average comic book reader. Thankfully this first story if easily digestable.
The second part of the one shot hones in on the "Leviathan" storyline more directly, and is a great example of Morrison working with grand ideas and accessibility for the reader. Batman's fight against Leviathan is mind-bending, and you'll probably have to read it at least twice to get it. Thankfully this isn't a bad thing (strange, I know), because you'll get to see more of Chris Burnham's artwork, which is great in it's own right. Like a mix of Eric Powell and Paul Pope, Burnham's art is great during the rugged fight scenes, and Morrison's script fires on all cylinders, especially when we get the big reveal as to who is really behind Leviathan. Hint: it's not who you think.
Batman: Leviathan Strikes! was well worth the wait, and while I may have had some problems with Morrison's Batman, Inc. in the past, I'm actually looking forward to it in the upcoming year. I wish we had some more explanations as to how this ties into the "New 52" universe, but I'm sure someone will fill us in at some point.
Holy crap. Rick Remender is a sick, sick man. With Flash Thompson on the run and working for Crime Master, he's forced to team up with the one person he hates the most: Jack O'Lantern. Remender reveals plenty about this new incarnation of the Spider-man C-level villain, and holy shit, is it dark. This is not for the faint of heart, and Lan Medina's final page will haunt me for a while now. If you're looking for a superhero book with a very sinister dark side, Venom is the one for you.
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