comics round-up 2nd October 2008

Batman #680 (RIP Book 7):
This is the Bat-shit. The Batman of Zur-er-Arr is ready to face the Black Glove and the circle of villains all waiting for him at Arkham Asylum. Meanwhile Commissioner Gorden, on a mission to Wayne Manor to let Bruce know the recent discoveries about his parents encounters deadly spoilt Damien, son of Batman and his evil mother. The Batman of Zur-er-Arr makes his way into Arkham and squares off against a Joker, more driven and more crazy than ever before, taunting him and his delicate psyche and he desperately tries to save Jezebel Jet, Bruce's girlfriend. But where is Bruce Wayne, disappeared into his own psyche while the Batman of Zur-er-Arr takes over trying desperately to save his subconscious from mental attack. Joker knows who the Black Glove is and why this mysterious force wants to bring down the Batman, setting up a final issue of revelations and destruction of the force that is the Batman. Amazing issue. Grant Morrison is as crazy as the character he is currently steering and this is a brilliant issue full of disturbing art and brilliant characterisation of the Joker and of the new more insane Batman. Can't wait for the finale.

Nightwing #149:
Nightwing squares off against a cabal of familiar villains as he tries to protect Carole against Penguin, Joker, Scarecrow, Mr Freeze and Two-Face. harvey Dent is lost to his split personality. Nightwing has been injected with Scarecrow's fear toxin and in the battle nothing is as it seems. A great action-packed issue, full of hallucinations and double-meanings, as Two Face battles himself and Harvey struggles to retain control. It ends in a death and a call for retribution that chillingly will effect Nightwing in future issues as a murder almost by his hands sends repercussive shockwaves through his universe.

Venom: Dark Origin #3 of 5:
When we left Eddie Brock, he was about to kill himself. His selfish need to self-promote and be famous, be noticed got him into a lot of trouble when his stories about the Sin-Eater were exposed by Spider-man to be false. Spidey has just ditched the symbiote and the church where Eddie goes to ask for forgiveness is haunted by a menacing black inky force. In this issue, we see the immediate effects of the symbiote bonding with Eddie Brock, his terror and infatuation with the surge of power it gives him, and the evil that courses through his veins. We're left with the chilling growth of the fangs and grotesque Spider-man copy that will haunt our favourite hero for years to come.

No Hero #1:
Warren Ellis and Juan Jose Ryp, the team behind the fan-favorite Black Summer, are revolutionizing masked heroes yet again in the hottest new series of the summer! Dead heroes in the dirt. A killer capable of almost supernatural tortures. Five generations of the world's only superhuman group. A forty-year legacy of standing for the rights of freedom and safety. A young man obsessed with the need for street justice. How much do you want to be a superhuman? How badly does he want it? Bad enough to bring on the last days of an American legend? If he even gets to survive that long? Forty years ago, a group of superhumans emerged in San Francisco, guided by the man whose unique new drugs gave them their incredible powers. But the team is not the only thing that's advanced over the years, and there are no easy victories when their luck finally begins to run out! An interesting discourse into the idea of vigilantism and its effects on those who pursue it and those who are directly affected by it, victims or innocent bystanders. One to watch.