Batman: Prelude to the Wedding - Batgirl vs. the Riddler #1: This issue is a miss, though it's hard to put my finger on why. First, it feels very color-by-number, as Babs easily solves the Riddler's wedding-themed clues. But, I think it's mostly because of the Riddler's creepy and unexpected expression of love for Babs. I get where Seeley is going with it, as other installments of this series have supporting characters reflect on what the wedding means and how it's going to affect their lives. (For her part, Babs calls Dick at the end.) The Riddler wonders why he doesn't have a lid for his pot. He admits he would have to fall for someone like Babs, who's smart enough to answer his riddles. But, it feels forced. Given their long histories, you'd think the Riddler would've previously come to this conclusion, whereas Damian and Dick's crises were much more directly tied to the feelings the wedding inspired in them. At any rate, it's not a terrible issue, just an odd one.
Bloodshot Salvation #10: Is Ray going to have to kill his son to save his daughter? ‘Cause that would s-u-c-k. It’s probably true, though, knowing Ray’s luck.
Oblivion Song #4: Kirkman is making it pretty clear Nathan has stopped listening when it comes to the various people in his life warning him about his overly rosy view of his crusade. Bridget confides to him that Duncan just isn’t getting better, after he almost beat her in his sleep the previous night during a nightmare. Duncan has also refused to attend a survivors' group and gets mad at Bridget whenever she suggests it. Nathan simply suggests she try harder, a sign of how blithely he seems to take the consequences of his actions. In his mind, he’ll always be the hero, even if it’s more complicated than that. Meanwhile, Ed’s team forces Keith to reveal the location where he encountered Nathan, so they’re ready for him when he eventually reappears. When Nathan does reappear and mentions Ed might be his brother, the group's leader asks if he's Nathan, and he displays a shining grin. But, Kirkman has hinted Ed might not be as happy to see Nathan as Nathan will be to see him, so we'll see where we go. In other developments, someone is spying on Nathan as he works in the storage shed that serves as his lab. Also, the group's leader insists Keith is a pariah for killing his family, refusing to believe his claim something called the “Faceless Ones” did. In a world of monsters, I’m not sure why they’re so quick to dismiss the monsters Keith describes. But, I guess we'll see.
The Weatherman #1: Wow. That issue was fucking intense and not just because they killed the dog. RIP, Sadie. :(
LeHeup does a great job of using media reporting to give us the background we need; it's particularly appropriate since our protagonist Nathan, as the title suggests, is a weatherman on the local news for Redd Bay, Mars. The year is 2770; seven years earlier, a group called the Sword of God killed everyone on Earth, all eight billion people. (It’s unclear if all Earth was destroyed or just the people on it.) We also learn about how telepaths are persecuted on Mars like Marvel’s mutants and “nemo” addiction rates are increasing.
In the present, a group of space pirates, for lack of a better term, are en route to Mars; someone named the Pearl has hired them to take a prisoner. One of the pirates, Kade, is worried another of the other pirates, the Marshal, is going to kill the prisoner first over a "debt." Meanwhile, on Mars, after his hilarious news broadcast, Nathan manages to convince a bartender named Amanda to go on a second date with him. They stop by the Earth memorial we saw Amanda visiting at the start of the issue with an older woman, and Amanda is rattled when Nathan approaches it so cavalierly. He apologizes later, and Amanda wonders if they’ll ever get over their collective grief. He says it would help if they caught the perpetrator, and Amanda asks who he lost in the attack. He says he lost everyone, but he tries not to think about it; in fact, he hopes his antics help people forget about their own grief, too. At that moment, someone shoots his beloved dog Sadie in the head, and Amanda is suddenly fighting off the space pirates as she calls for backup. A hysterical Nathan eventually kills Kade before he can kill Amanda and then clutches Sadie’s body in his grief. Then, Amanda and her team arrest him for the murder of eight billion people.
In other words: whoa. I admit I’m all shaky after reading this issue, since the murder of the dog is pretty graphic and, yes, I care more about the dog than the people. (People suck.) But, LeHeup and the creative team somehow completely immerse you in this story from the first moment, and I honestly cannot believe I have to wait a month to see what happens next.
LeHeup does a great job of using media reporting to give us the background we need; it's particularly appropriate since our protagonist Nathan, as the title suggests, is a weatherman on the local news for Redd Bay, Mars. The year is 2770; seven years earlier, a group called the Sword of God killed everyone on Earth, all eight billion people. (It’s unclear if all Earth was destroyed or just the people on it.) We also learn about how telepaths are persecuted on Mars like Marvel’s mutants and “nemo” addiction rates are increasing.
In the present, a group of space pirates, for lack of a better term, are en route to Mars; someone named the Pearl has hired them to take a prisoner. One of the pirates, Kade, is worried another of the other pirates, the Marshal, is going to kill the prisoner first over a "debt." Meanwhile, on Mars, after his hilarious news broadcast, Nathan manages to convince a bartender named Amanda to go on a second date with him. They stop by the Earth memorial we saw Amanda visiting at the start of the issue with an older woman, and Amanda is rattled when Nathan approaches it so cavalierly. He apologizes later, and Amanda wonders if they’ll ever get over their collective grief. He says it would help if they caught the perpetrator, and Amanda asks who he lost in the attack. He says he lost everyone, but he tries not to think about it; in fact, he hopes his antics help people forget about their own grief, too. At that moment, someone shoots his beloved dog Sadie in the head, and Amanda is suddenly fighting off the space pirates as she calls for backup. A hysterical Nathan eventually kills Kade before he can kill Amanda and then clutches Sadie’s body in his grief. Then, Amanda and her team arrest him for the murder of eight billion people.
In other words: whoa. I admit I’m all shaky after reading this issue, since the murder of the dog is pretty graphic and, yes, I care more about the dog than the people. (People suck.) But, LeHeup and the creative team somehow completely immerse you in this story from the first moment, and I honestly cannot believe I have to wait a month to see what happens next.
(I edited the texts of my "The Weatherman" reviews in November 2024 as I occasionally called Cross "Amy" instead of Amanda and the Marshal as "Cowboy" or just "Marshal.")
Also Read: Detective Comics #982; The Wild Storm: Michael Cray #8
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