Book Review: Batwing vol #3 (New 52)

Book: Batwing volume #3: Enemy of the State (issues #13-18) by Judd Winick (issues #13 & #14) and Fabian Nicieza (issues #15-18) 

Illustrations by Marcus To (issues #13 & #14), Fabrizio Fiorentino (issues #15, 17-18) and Allan Jefferson (issue #16)

Color by Brian Reber (issues #13 & #14) and Pete Pantazis (issues #15-18)


Edition: Single Print Issues

Rating: 5 stars

Review:

I don't give out 5 stars to just any old book, the writing has to be good and the story amazing and that is what I got from reading this. 

In these issues, David Zavimbe had a lot to deal with including trying to be a good and honest cop despite being surrounded by a corrupt police force. And as Batwing he found himself going up against two very formidable opponents, a cult leader and an unscrupulous businessman. 

In issues #13-#15 Batwing was trying to stop the mind controlling cult leader Father Lost who had his followers conducting murderous rituals in his name. His followers the Finders who had been abducting people throughout the area then killing them. Also trying to stop Father Lost was a mercenary going by the name Dawn who has a connection to David. What made stopping Father Lost difficult was he got into David's head and put him under his control but that experience may have given Batwing a chance to stop him.

While Batwing was being mind controlled, his secret identity may have been found out by his friend and fellow police officer Kia Okura. But will she keep his secret?

In issues #16-#18, while trying to do his job to bring in Ancil Marksbury, a killer, David found himself on two enemy lists: the police and Phillip Marksbury, Ancil's father who is a very vindictive and evil man.

After the body of a young girl was found, Ancil Marksbury was arrested for the crime but his high-powered father paid off the police to make sure his son wasn't found guilty of the crime and was eventually released from jail. However, when the body of a second young woman was found also with evidence pointing towards Ancil, David wasn't going to let him get away this time.

After investigating, he and officer Kia located a witness but with a police force easily bought how can they keep the witness safe. But they did and getting Ancil arrested may have made it even more difficult for David to be an effective police officer especially with the rest of the cops treating him as a traitor. It also put David and Batwing on Phillip Marksbury's radar, who hired two mercenaries to solve his problem and retrieve his son.

Everything was taking its toll on David but the worse was yet to come with his friend and assistant Matu severely injured and the Batwing headquarters destroyed all thanks to Marksbury. David's job was on the line and with everything at its boiling point will David cross the line to put an end to all of this?

Issue #18 ended on a cliffhanger with the possibility of Batwing taking extreme measures to put an end to Marksbury but with the next issue being David's last, it's a wonder what will happen. I look forward to seeing how all of this ends, hopefully on a good note for David but it's the New 52 so anything can happen.

Currently Reading: Batwing vol #3 (New 52) and A Wedding in Truhart

Even though I won't start reading these two book until tomorrow I still wanted to post what I'm currently reading.

I'm trying to get caught up with the Batwing series, I'm still reading the one with David Zavimbe as Batwing. The first and second volumes were great, I hope this will be too. But with two different writers I wonder if everything will mesh up well. Although, I'm familiar with both Judd Winick and Fabian Nicieza writing styles, I still want this to be a good read.

As for the second book, I haven't read a romance book in a while and thought I would give A Wedding in Truhart a chance. This will be the first time I will be reading something by this author, I'm looking forward to reading it. The description makes it seem as if it will be an easy breezy read.

Book: Batwing volume #3: Enemy of the State (issues #13-18) by Judd Winick (issues #13 & #14) and Fabian Nicieza (issues #15-18) 

Illustrations by Marcus To (issues #13 & #14), Fabrizio Fiorentino (issues #15, 17-18) and Allan Jefferson (issue #16)

Color by Brian Reber (issues #13 & #14) and Pete Pantazis (issues #15-18)


Edition: Single Print Issues

Description:

Deputized by Batman himself, David Zavimbe dons Wayne Tech-designed armor to become the protector of his native Tanisha as a part of Batman, Incorporated. A police officer by day, David fights against the corruption in his country both in and out of costume, trying to set right a war torn region of Africa.

Batwing's alter-egos have never been under more fire. Within the bureau, David must fight against one of the most crooked cop forces on the continent. In his armor, Batwing tries to take down the deadly Father Lost and the Sky Pirate, who both put David's closest allies in danger.

Book: A Wedding in Truhart (Truhart book #1) by Cynthia Tennent

Source: Borrowed from Publisher/NetGalley for an honest review

Publication: September 29, 2015

Description:

Welcome to Truhart, Michigan, population 1300 and dropping. Where everyone knows everyone else and garage sales are front page news. Not exactly where you’d expect to find the celebrity wedding of the year. As Maid of Honor, and the famous bride’s big sister, Annie has to plan a wedding suitable for America’s newest sweetheart reporter on The Morning Show. But what she didn’t plan on was seeing Nick Conrad again. Her older brother’s best friend who left Truhart for the big city, Nick just happens to be Annie’s embarrassing childhood crush. He’s also the Best Man.

As Atlanta’s High Society descends on the tiny Midwest town, Annie has the impossible task of controlling her eccentric family and nutty neighbors, while hosting a wedding fit for a princess at her family’s rundown Amble Inn. But what she can’t control is the spark reigniting between her and Nick. Between snowstorms, an A.W.O.L. gown, and the broadcast of the wedding on The Morning Show, Annie is just hoping to survive the big day without losing her mind. And to survive being around Nick again without losing her heart.

Art of the Day: Batwing (David Zavimbe) (New 52)

Artwork: cover art for Batwing issue #1 by Ben Oliver with color by Brian Reber

Book Review: Batwing vol #2 (New 52)

Book: Batwing volume #2: In The Shadow of the Ancients (issues #7-12 and #0) by Judd Winick with illustrations by Dustin Nguyen (issues #7 & 8) and Marcus To (issues #9-0)

Edition: Read the single print issues

Rating: 4 1/2 stars

Review:

To me the strongest issues (#9-11 and 0) were the ones when Batwing (David Zavimbe) was on his own or getting just a little help from Nightwing. The other issues were good but not as good as those because the story felt crowed with unnecessary characters.

Issues #7 and 8 continued where the first volume left off with Batwing trying to stop Massacre from going after former superheroes who he feels have committed a horrible act. In these two issues the Batfamily (Batman, Robin, Batgirl and Nightwing) were there for assistance and the reader finds out the truth behind Massacre's motives and who's behind everything.

Issue #9 was a tie-in to the Night of Owls storyline, in this story David and his mentor/assistant Matu Ba were invited to a Gotham Batman Inc. gala along with Lucius Fox. Even though David really didn't want to go, it was a good thing he was there because one of the Owls' Talon assassins showed up.

Issues #10-12 had Batwing attempting to stop pirates but inadvertently stumbled upon an even deadlier crime with ties to one of Gotham's top criminals. With clues that lead Batwing and Nightwing to China, they were in the process of gathering information when they were attacked. While they were there, Batwing's assistant Matu Ba was experiences a horrific family tragedy but the worst of it was that the information and Matu's tragedy led them to a isolated stronghold in Africa. Justice League International were there to provide assistance.

Issue #0 told David's backstory of how he became a masked vigilante which eventually led to him becoming Batwing. Because although he was a police officer he felt like he wasn't making any real difference. He continued to see the corruption within the police department and criminals getting away due to bribes. David fed up, figured out a way that he could make a difference.

Although I thought this was a good group of issues, I felt like some scenes were over crowded with characters that didn't really need to be there. The appearance of the Batfamily felt like they were trying to pander to those fans who felt like Batwing should have a connection to Batman. It's obvious he does and didn't need the entire family to show up. The story also didn't need the appearance of the JLI which felt like another way to promote that series instead of actually adding to the story.

I wasn't disappointed reading this because Judd Winick is at his best when the focus is on Batwing and the story telling. David was great as Batwing and it makes me wonder why he was replaced later on in the series that's not a spoiler since DC announced who the replacement was going to be. They never can seem to keep their secrets a secret can they.

Book Review: Batwing vol #1 (New 52)

Book: Batwing volume #1: The Lost Kingdom (issues #1-6) by Judd Winick with illustrations by Ben Oliver (issues #1-2 and 5-6) and Chriscross (issue #4) and color by Brian Reber

Edition: I read the single print issues

Rating: 5 stars

Review:

This was really good and it was Judd Winick at his best. I found it to be a captivating story of Batwing (David Zavimbe) as he tries to stop crime and corruption not only as a costumed hero but also as a police officer in Africa.

The story opens with Batwing trying to stop Massacre, a killer who has not only been going after the bad guys but also the police and a group of former heroes. There are a lot of layers to this mystery and the story definitely captured my attention.

Although this is David's case, he got a little assistance from the Dark Knight even though he didn't really need it. David is an amazing hero who strives to uphold what is right.

This first volume of Batwing is really well written and sweeps into David's life. Thanks to a vivid back story the reader got to see who David was and who he is on his journey to becoming a hero.

Overall, I was not disappointed after reading these six issues. They were a wonderful beginning to this series.

Book Review: Justice League International vol. #2 (new 52)

Book: Justice League International volume #2: Breakdown (issues #7-12) written by Dan Jurgens with illustrations by Aaron Lopresti and colors by Brian Miller (Hi-Fi)

Annual #1 written by Geoff Johns and Dan Didio with illustrations by Jason Fabok and colors by Jeromy Cox

Rating: 1 star

Review:

I read the single issues instead of the trade. This was really bad and I had hoped it would be better than the first volume which was plagued with problems.  It's hard to believe that this one had even more.

This starts right where issue six ended with a bomb going off during the U.N.'s JLI press conference. The blast injured and killed numerous people including taking out of commission with fatal injuries Vixen, Fire and Ice and to make it not seem blatantly obvious that they wanted to get rid of most of the female characters they also killed off Rocket Red. So that leaves the team down to four members: Booster Gold, Green Lantern (Guy Gardner), Godiva and August General in Irons as well as continuous assistance from Batman. And to add to the team, Batwing (David Zavimbe) and O.M.A.C. were added by the 8th and 9th issues.

The story in issues #7-11, had the team going after those responsible for the bombing. The bombers or The Burners, turned out to be a group of meta-humans: Lightweaver, Intersek, and Crosscut who were lead by Breakdown. They have decided to take action against all the governments of the world by trying to destroy the system to give the people back their freedom.

Unfortunately there wasn't much of a story here. It was inconsistent and too overly focused on the fighting and action which felt more like a way of distracting the reader from seeing that there wasn't actually a story. There was a issue with inconsistency that I had, for instance, at the end of issue #10 the JLI (including Batman) were captured by The Burners. However, in the next issue, the whole team minus Batman were on display for a public execution by The Burners. So my question is, what happened to Batman? Did he escape? If so, why didn't he help the team? If not, then where was he? Perhaps, I wasn't supposed to notice that.

However, Batman (with no explanation as to where he was or how he got away) does show up at the cemetery in the 12th issue as the remaining members of the team took to honor Rocket Red. Ice and Vixen were able to view the proceeding from the hospital due to Green Lantern projecting it to them with his ring. As they were honoring their teammate, the team was attacked. After that was easily resolved they decided to figure out what their next step should be for the team. Batman decided not to continue on with the team as well as Batwing (even though he shows up in the next issue). This issue was actually one of the better issues.

Now in the annual #1, the story doesn't get much better. They continue to lose two more team members but they also gain two more. This has turned into a revolving door of team members. The story starts with the JLI minus Booster Gold trying to deal with a hostage situation. With that taken care of and Batwing deciding not to join the team as they head back to their new headquarters (under the impression that the Justice League will be showing up). As soon as they get there, Booster is introducing them to their new team mates: Blue Beetle and The Olympian.

Not liking the new direction the team is heading in, Green Lantern decides to quit the team.  As Booster was taking the members to the meeting room, August General in Iron went to go check on O.M.A.C., however something has gone wrong with O.M.A.C..  It seems that his computer infused infrastructure was starting to take control as it phased out his human DNA. He started to attack August General in Iron and the rest of the team. The team couldn't seem to hold their own against him and Blue Beetle had been transported away (read Blue Beetle vol #2 to find out where). While most of the team was nearly taken out, the last two standing were Booster Gold and Godiva. With Godiva off to check on members of the team, Booster was able to finally deal with O.M.A.C.

As soon as O.M.A.C. was down, a time traveling Booster Gold from the future showed up. However, before the future Booster could tell his entire message to Booster, he disappeared leaving the image of Superman and Wonder Woman kissing on the screen. To make matters worse, Booster also disappeared moments later. This series was supposed to continue on with Justice League.

I can really understand why this series was cancelled. It was horrible. The writing was flat and unemotional. There was no reason to care about what happened to these characters because they didn't bother trying to show the reader who they were and there was also no character development at all. After a while it just felt like a way for them to promote other series with all the rotating members (from other series).

Lastly, the artwork continues to be the best things about issues #7-12 and annual #1, sad to say it couldn't save a poorly written series. I really feel like I wasted time reading this.