Superman/Batman # 27 Review
Author: Mark Verheiden
Artist: Kevin Maquire
Cover: Ethan Van Sciver
Verheiden's first issue and I think it will probably be some people's last. This is a stand alone issue that can be a bit confusing if you don't know much about the Pre-Crises characters, particularly the Earth 2 Supeman (Kal-L), Batman, Huntress(Bruce Wayne's daughter Helena) and Powergirl (Kal-L's cousin). But even if you know about them, it's still a bit confusing. Here is what happens in this issue:
Superman and Batman find themselves inside the bodies of the Huntress and Power Girl. Keep in mind this is all happening in Earth 2, so Bruce and Supes are older and Bruce is now Gotham's commissioner and a retired superhero. Somehow the Utlra-Humanite managed to do this with the help of Brainwave and Solomon Grundy, and the Joker might be pulling the strings, but before everything is revealed Supergirl (Flamebird) wakes Power Girl (Nightwing) up from what seemed to be a dream.
It's kind of confusing because we really don't get any explanation as to why PG is remembering Earth 2 events. So does that mean that she remembers Earth 2 or everyone remembers Earth 2? I hope Verheiden explores this in further detail down the road. What got a bit confusing for me was the fact that although Supe's and Bat's minds are in the bodies of Power Girl and Huntress, they don't sound anything like Supes and Bats. They sound more like the Huntress and PG. Now this could be, because the minds of PG and Huntress are still in their bodies somewhere, but once again this isn't explained.
I really appreciate what Verheiden is trying to do, but I don't think it was very well executed. Maguire delivers some of his best art since his run on JLA Classified. He has a dirty cartoon feel to his art, but it fits the scene in this story and his action sequences are pulled off really nice. Not a great story, but I think Verheiden's real stories are coming in the forms of arcs. Stand alone issues are hardly a good way to judge a new writer on a book, but I see a lot of readers being confused with this one, not that they weren't with the past arc Loeb wrote. C+
Yeah I picked this up on a whim, and regretted it severly. The story I could care less about. I might pick up the next issue hoping for a good story arc but, even that's iffy.
Damn! Get your comics a day late and see Omar snap up all the reviews you were going to do! Lol.
I liked this issue, felt like and Earth 2 story, even tho I've never read and Earth 2 story. The ending kinda sucked tho. And here's Powergirl in an ugly costume, go check out the other books to see why they covered up here ginormous brests! Yuck. I agree with the C+.