Not-So-New Comics: The August 16 Non-Marvel Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Dark Nights:  Metal #1:  As far as I can piece together, Carter Hall and his Challengers of the Unknown realized the Nth metal (presumably the "ninth" metal) came from outside our Multiverse, specifically the Dark Multiverse.  However, Hall didn’t believe this universe was "evil" before he and the Challengers entered it via a portal.  Hawkwoman provides us this information after whisking the Justice League to her secret base (if I remember correctly).  She then reveals she later got a message from the Red Tornado (one of the Challengers) saying a great beast lies in the Dark Multiverse and she shouldn't open the portal to it.  She tells the League she believes this creature to be one mentioned in numerous tales of the metal:  Barbatos, literally "foreign metal."  The dark tribe (i.e., the Bat Tribe) worshiped him, and someone treated with the five divine metals could open the portal for him.  (Five divine metals?  I guess it explains the weird exchange between Bruce and Talia about the "eight" versus "ninth" metals in "Dark Days:  The Casting" #1.)  Hawkwoman reveals the name of the person who opens the portal is "Wayne."  Dun-dun-DUN!  The League covers Bruce's escape (because I think Hawkwoman wants to imprison him before he can open the portal fully), and he manages to flee with a piece of the Nth Metal Hawkwoman had at her base.  While he studies it at the Batcave, we learn Carter hid his journal in Wayne Manor for Bruce to find.  (Presumably Carter had the same information about a Wayne opening the portal as Hawkwoman; the presence of the Nth metal also presumably awakens the journal.)  We learn the Waynes used to be members of the Bat Tribe but switched to the Bird Tribe so now they’re trustworthy.  (Sure, whatever.)  Carter also reveals in his journal that he was wrong, presumably (again) about the evilness of the Dark Multiverse.  (This journal must be from the Dark Multiverse if Carter now knows he was wrong about it being evil.  However, how exactly did he hide it in Wayne Manor if he's on another plane of existence?)  As you can probably tell by all the "presumably-s," I wasn't thrilled with this issue.  We’re clearly supposed to be wowed by it, as if Snyder has been carefully building this plot over years and years and hiding Easter eggs along the way.  But, everything is only "amazing" because Snyder tells us it is.  It’s like putting an addition on the house in a different style and trying to pretend it was there all along.  Right now, at least for me, I can tell it's an addition.

Batman #29:  I can’t tell if this issue is brilliant or terrible.  The last few issues have felt like retrospective issues of a story we haven’t yet read, with King focusing more on fringe developments in the War of Jokes and Riddles than on the war itself.  But, he finally engages in the war directly here as Bruce Wayne invites Joker and Riddler to dinner.  Janín is spectacular here, with the top panel of each page depicting the course Alfred is serving as part of a proper French nine-course meal.  Bruce reveals he’s offering a prize:  one billion dollars to the one who convinces him he’s most worthy of killing the Bat.  It makes a certain amount of sense:  Bruce wants to bring the war to conclusion, and he needs one of them to defeat the other soundly.  One billion dollars would obviously get them there.  (We'll put aside the legality of Bruce moving that amount of cash to one of them.)  But, once again, it's hard to buy Bruce's desperation bringing him to this point because we haven't really seen the violence allegedly tearing apart Gotham.  Proving that point, this issue only delivers such examples through grayed-out flashback panels.  Moreover, Bruce is...weird, even in his interaction with Alfred.  He fixates on the fact his mother would've disapproved of his "guests" leaving before the final coffee and sherry course.  Sure, Bruce:  Martha would've been most disappointed in the bad manners your guests exhibited rather than you offering one billion dollars to Gotham's most dangerous psychopath to help him kill the second most dangerous one.  I get the act for Joker and Riddler, but it doesn't make any sense with Alfred.  It’s almost like King wants us to believe Bruce has suffered some sort of psychotic break as a result of the war.  In other words, it’s par for the course of this story:  moments of brilliant inspiration lost in muddled narrative.

Dungeons & Dragons:  Frost Giant’s Fury #4:  This issue is legitimately exciting.  The team has to regroup and then track down the frost giants as their leader, Gryttmort, uses the Dragon Orb (I mean, “Orb of Dragonkind”) to start building an army of dragons and giants.  They discover Nilanthe’s eggs, but they’re going to have to get through a whole squadron of frost giants to escape with them.  Thankfully, one of the magicians back in town gave Minsc a potion that allows him to grow to the size of a giant, and I can’t wait to see that deployed.  Along the way, Zub gives us some really great moments of characterization, from the latest installment of Krydle’s ongoing crisis of motivation to Minsc’s attempt to make friends with a winter wolf because all animals love him.  If you’re a fantasy person, you should pick up this series.  I’d love to see Wizards of the Coast actually give us some novels based on this cast.  It’s not just the Dragon Orb that makes me feel like I was reading "Dragons of Winter Night."

Also Read:  Dragon Age:  Knight Errant #4; Nightwing #27

Not-Very-Deep Thoughts: The April 12 Non-Marvel Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Detective Comics #954:  As I've previously mentioned, I haven't been thrilled with other DC authors embracing Scott Snyder's belief that Batman is incompetent and overconfident.  But, I have to admit Tynion uses it to great effect here.  It's pretty great to watch Batman and R'as al Ghul fumble with the reality that they don't know how to defeat Shiva.  Batman is distraught upon learning al Ghul only made him think the League of Shadows was a myth, and al Ghul is forced to admit he unleashed something he couldn't control when he put Shiva in charge of it.  (al Ghul doesn't reveal what the difference of opinion is between him and Shiva that set her on her own path; we only know she didn't approve of his goal for the League.)  The fact he's reduced to tricking Batman so he can deliver him to Shiva as part of a cease-fire says a lot about Shiva's bad-ass-ery.  At this stage, the only forces left standing to oppose Shiva are the Colony (after Colony Prime and Ulysses bust Jake and the other captives from the now-unguarded Belfry) and Orphan.  As you can imagine, the League should probably be more frightened by the latter than the former.

Dungeons & Dragons:  Frost Giant's Fury #2:  If "Shadows of the Vampire" was the trial, this arc is the reward.  Minsc is relieved to discover a chance at redemption by helping to protect the village of Fireshear from marauding frost giants trying to steal a dragon's horde.  (Krydle freed said dragon during the giants' attack on Fireshear, redirecting their attention from the village to the cave where the dragon fled.)  They're joined in this issue by Saarvin, the dragonkin ranger who saved them last issue, and Dasharra, a warrior retired from Waterdeep's Griffon Guards.  Zub largely keeps the tone of this issue light, after Saarvin leads the companions to Fireshear for healing, food, warmth, and gear.  But, he doesn't ignore character development, as it seems possible that Nerys has been infected with vampirism during the fight with Strahd and Minsc is uncharacteristically depressed about his loss of status as a butt-kicking hero.  It's good fun.

Titans #10:  Abnett avoids the comic-book trope of the newbie doing better than the veterans when Karen pays a price for taking out four of the Fearsome Five:  Psimon removes the engram tied to her family from her mind, leaving her unable to remember them.  We learn Psimon likely sent the engram to his employer because it has value, though I'll admit I'm not sure what "value" it has.  (Blackmail?)  Trying to help get back Karen's memory, Dick tracks down the Five's employer:  H.I.V.E., the group that created Deathstroke.  I've been driven over the edge recently when it comes to cross-over events, but I have to admit Abnett really sets up the upcoming "Lazarus Effect" event nicely, as it feels like a natural progression of this story.  I'm almost excited about it.