Joe Anybody, Batman: Gotham Adventures 41 Review

"A Tale of Joe" finds Batman taking an interest in a slacker named Joe. A guy that can't even do the wrong thing right. A guy who could probably show up late for his own funeral. Joe takes the easy way out. The path of least resistance. But even when he's invited to be part of a crime, he shows up late. He's listless. Directionless. Rudderless. Admittedly, he has no sense of purpose.

And yet, The Batman sees something in him. Something that shouldn't go to waste.

Scott Peterson has crafted a character that could be anyone. An average Joe. Drifting through life. Waiting for something, anything to happen to change circumstance and the environment.

It isn't until Joe is presented with that kind of circumstance that he realizes a change in himself.

Alfred provides the final conclusion to the story.

Peterson, Levins, Beatty, Loughridge and DeGuzman are aided and abetted here by editors Harvey Richards, Nachie Castro, Joan Hilty and Bob Schreck. This is an important moral and ethical story. A very rare breed.

"Don't waste good."

"A Tale of Joe", Batman: Gotham Adventures 41 earns five stars.

Warming a Cold, Cold Heart, Batman: Gotham Adventures 40 Review

Four pages. Peterson and Levins have no dialogue for the first four pages of this issue. All it is, is Batman getting trashed by Victor Fries. It is only when The Caped Crusader crawls back to the Batcave and is greeted by Alfred and Tim that questions are raised and slowly begin to be answered.

As an aside, one is not a big fan of the head in a jar version of Mr. Freeze. The armor is cool. The freeze gun is cool. The jarhead on metal spider legs... not so much.

The mystery is, What is Fries working on and for Whom?

Peterson has crafted a very brilliant story. Yet another tragic tale. Victor Fries is being played like a finely tuned violin, by someone that can pluck frigid heartstrings. The reveal is quite shattering.

Peterson is to be commended on story, Levins on art. They are supported by cool henchmen Beatty, Loughridge and DeGuzman.

"Colder Than Arctic", Batman: Gotham Adventures 40 earns five stars.   

In the Make-Up, Batman: Gotham Adventures 39 Review

There are strange occurrences going on with the production of Shakespeare's Macbeth. Legend has it that the play is troubled and haunted, to the point that performers do not refer to it by name or title, it's simply referred to as "The Scottish Play". Thespian Alfred Pennyworth enlightens Barbara and Dick on the legend of the play. 

Barbara continues to investigate as more and more strange occurrences happen. Eventually Dick and Bruce are drawn in. Obviously, it turns out that Matt Hagen has been drawn to the production like a moth to a flame. Performing and theatrics are just part of his make-up, no matter his guise.

It's such a fun, yet tragic story by Peterson, Levins and Beatty. The focus upfront is more on the play and the accidents which inevitably lead to Matt Hagen's other identity. His other guy enters, "stage left" for a brief curtain call. Clayface nearly brings down the house battling The Dark Knight.

"Acts", Batman: Gotham Adventures 39 earns four stars.

    

When the Smoke Finally Clears, Trace Adkins is Luke McBain 4 Review

"The Beginning..."

Starts off really good. Luke grabs a shotgun. Callie begs him not to go. But it's time for a reckonin'.

Erik, Callie's son is one of the two standing guard at the gate of the McBain Mill. Inside, Paul is selling the mill to a developer who plans to turn it into a golf course. Which might end up destroying the other businesses in Eden. Paul's really not that concerned, his goal is what he makes off the deal and being free of the mill.

Luke crashes the mill gate with his truck. it turns into a glorious spectacle and unravels as a shootout. he gets to Paul's office where the Sheriff is waiting. As the Sheriff and Paul lead Luke out, they're met by their father. Who wraps everything up almost too neatly. He just tells Paul that the mill is not for sale and the deal he made is null and void, just like that. He orders Luke freed and gives him the opportunity to take his shot at Paul. He doesn't. 

And just like that, it's over. Luke and Callie are enjoying a "happily ever after."

What starts off as a thrilling conclusion wraps up just a little too neatly. How exactly does Old Man McBain undo a deal Paul has done? He could lay out the lawyer and destroy the signed contracts. That's not shown. It's just presumed. It really would have been nice to see Dad show the muscle behind the bluster.

Trace Adkins is Luke McBain would make a really cool movie, on silver screen or little screen. The concluding chapter earns four stars.

I may be biased in my assessment. Your mileage may vary.

 

  

One Step Closer, Trace Adkins is Luke McBain 3 Review!

Ladies love Country boys...

The cliffhanger from the previous issue finds Luke and Callie running through the "woods" - a gutted version of the woods - of Eden, Louisiana. Chased by a helicopter. With someone inside the helicopter. Shooting at them. The couple manage to find cover and the helicopter moves off. Under cover, Callie and Luke find comfort. An hour later when the helicopter comes back, they're gone. 

Later still, Luke starts a bar fight at The Wheel House. He uses the fight to cover heading over and looking through his brother's files. The answer is always in the files!

Elsewhere, Paul wants to send a very definite, permanent message to his brother Luke, while closing a major deal involving the mill and Eden. That message comes across loud and clear, not only to Luke, but to everyone else. What's come next is the thrilling, explosive showdown - brother versus brother!

The story and art are pretty consistent. Moody, shadowy. The story plays well into Trace Adkins' tough-guy image. Definitely a comic book version of Walking Tall or a Clint Eastwood story.

"D.O.A.", Trace Adkins is Luke McBain earns four stars.  

'Til The Shootin' Starts, Trace Adkins is Luke McBain 2 Review

Not everyone in Eden is happy to see Luke McBain. He's back in Edin, Louisiana after fourteen years in prison. For a crime he didn't commit, maybe. It was a choice between him and his brother, Paul. It's possible Luke took the fall for his brother. Now, he's come back. And he's gotten a job at the Mill that his brother runs. Working in the mill can be a dangerous thing, as Luke finds out pretty quickly.

After having an injury checked out, Luke pays a visit to the family lawyer. He finds out that his father has re-written his will, leaving some cash to Luke, but the mill to Paul, as sole beneficiary.

Later, Callie and Luke go for a walk in the woods. Where they find that a good chunk has been stripped, probably by Paul for the mill.

That's when the shooting starts. It's all fun and games... 'til the shootin' starts.

This second chapter of Trace Adkins is Luke McBain is all about Luke finding out he's not wanted around. Stelfreeze's cover is riveting, just as Tischman's script. Chamberlain's art continues the moody noir vibe. Aside from Luke getting injured at the mill and the walk in the woods, there's really not a whole lot happening here. Pretty much things just simmer, not ready to boil over or explode just yet.

"The Mill", Trace Adkins is Luke McBain 2 earns four stars. 

  

West of Judgment, Trace Adkins is Luke McBain 1 Review

I might be slightly biased about Trace Adkins is Luke McBain. I worked in Country radio for a number of years, and I remember Trace Adkins' debut as an artist. He played one of the local fairs and the station I worked for promoted his appearance. Probably with his single "(This Ain't) No Thinkin' Thing". I got to meet him and "bring him up" to the stage. That's the fun part of being a radio personality: meeting the artist and then walking out on stage and introducing him.

Trace Adkins is Luke McBain is definitely from the mold of "Billy Jack" and "Walking Tall". It's very much like the 2004 Dwayne ("The Rock") Johnson film. Johnson plays Chris Vaughn a discharged Green Beret who returns his small hometown to find it run down. The local mill is closed and there's a new casino downtown that is a front for drugs. A number of his former friends are now part of the corruption and criminal activity. 

Here, McBain - possibly a one-off of pseudonym Ed McBain, author of the 87th Precinct crime drama novels - walks tall back to his small hometown of Eden, Louisiana after fourteen years in prison. He is immediately offered a room above the gas station at the edge of town by the son of his family's former maid. Stopping at Eden's grocery store, he uses an ax handle and his fists to stop a robbery. After paying a quick visit to his brother, Paul, for keys to a truck, then dinner with an old high school sweetheart, he's paid a visit by the sheriff.

This is definitely a pulp-style men's adventure. Two-fisted. Coarse language. Courtesy of writer David Tischman. Brian Stelfreeze's cover is album cover material. Kody Chamberlain's art is moody. Lean and sparse on color, heavy on shadows and shadowy tone. The testosterone carries a heavy musk. Luke McBain is cut from the same cloth as The Man in Black, Merle Haggard and Waylon Jennings. Two-fisted tough, but sensitive enough to play a Country song. Probably about Mama.

Trace Adkins is Luke McBain earns four stars for tough-guy action.