Wow, I should skip this title more often, it seems to improve the quality of the material I’m reviewing. Well, to an extent. So what have we got this time?
What’s a Calendar?
The premise of this one, if the title wasn’t enough of a giveaway, is that Calendar Man has kidnapped a bunch of people born on the 29th of February with the intent to execute them as aberrations. Unfortunately, one of those people is a member of the Yakuza, and the whole thing is a blood bath waiting to happen.
This is a very standard Batman story where he has to beat the villain, save the innocents, and prevent the situation from getting worse. While the plot is a bit by-the-numbers, there are a few things that make it stand out. We get a secondary perspective from a hostage negotiator named Brookes as he has to sort through the madness of the whole situation while giving the man just enough of a personality to ensure that he’s memorable without being forced into center stage. But most importantly, it was nice to read a Batman story where he just gets to Batman it up, y’know? Anybody else feel that we don’t see enough of these stories nowadays?
Score: 8/10
Petsurrection, Part 1
Now, this is the type of story I want to see more often in my anthologies. John Constantine teams up with Supergirl’s cat, Streaky, to deal with a bunch of resurrected animals that want to kill John. The DC Universe is a wonderful place with the potential for so many characters from different genres to interact. It is sad that we don’t see this too often, so it’s noteworthy when it happens. I would rate this a bit more if the story didn’t feel a bit generic (of course, John’s allergic to cats), and the art feels a bit too bright for the subject matter, but it is still a decent read.
I mean, is this any weirder than what Constantine faces on a daily basis?Score: 7/10
Duality, Part 3
Well, Renee’s been outed as the Question…which ultimately doesn’t amount to much in this story, at least. However, I do admire the way Renee handles her secret getting outed, as she has been through something similar in the past. As a matter of fact, this entire arc could be described as a blast from the past, with the villain being someone I wouldn’t have expected…although, as is modern comic book tradition, a formerly non-superpowered person has been powered up. I expect the reactions to this arc to be mixed, especially since this is basically setup for Renee’s upcoming series, but it wasn’t a bad way to get her to lose her face once again.
Like I said, a blast from the pastScore: 7/10
Downtime at the Diner
This is the weakest story so far. Billy Batson and Oliver Queen hang out at a diner and talk about why bad guys tend to be admired. It’s another cookie-cutter plot where, frankly, you could replace Billy with another kid hero, Ollie with another older hero, and Clayface with another villain down on their luck, and the story would change very little. It’s fine, but nothing spectacular.
Score: 5/10
Bats Again: A Microstory
Kirk Langstrom goes to therapy as Man-Bat.
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That’s it. That’s the review.
Score: 6/10
Recommended If
- You want a classic Batman story.
- You like odd team-ups.
- Look, a microstory gets a microreview.
Overall
This is a much better offering of stories overall. I like that we get a no-nonsense Batman story, a story where Streaky features prominently, and the microstory at the end made me chuckle. It’s a decent, if not spectacular, collection, which is probably the best you’re getting with this series.
Score: 7/10
English (US) · 