The Outhouse - The Greatest Comic Book Forum

by guitarsmashley » Thu Aug 11, 2011 9:31 am

John Snow wrote:Weird week next week. No point in picking DC because of the relaunch, everything at Marvel is mid-arc and the larger indies aren't offering up anything even remotely interesting. As such, I guess I'll pick the RG's first Radical selection...



Damaged #1
Written by: David Lapham
Pencils by: Leonardo Manco

After a violent incident in their shared past forces the lives of brothers Frank and Henry Lincoln to diverge, each carries on with his own brand of justice. Frank, who is very close to retirement, has spent his life becoming a distinguished member of the San Francisco police force. Meanwhile, Henry has devoted his life to being a vigilante whose own brand of justice is far more violent than the law allows. After 35 years, these brothers are brought together again by the murder of a Russian mafia boss in the city by the bay. Frank, caught between political turmoil and training his replacement as he leaves the force, comes face to face with Henry, who may have more than just answers about the murder.

Looking forward to those 2 or 3 reviews next week.

by Eli Katz » Thu Aug 11, 2011 9:37 am

guitarsmashley wrote:
I swear I've been saying this to YOU for quite a while.

by ****** » Thu Aug 11, 2011 10:12 am

guitarsmashley wrote:
trying to amber atoms your self huh? Should have just juded the group.

by Punchy » Thu Aug 11, 2011 10:17 am

by ****** » Thu Aug 11, 2011 10:27 am

Punchy wrote:Is this one of those 'failed movie pitches turned comic' thingies?

by Punchy » Thu Aug 11, 2011 10:37 am

John Snow wrote:
It is a Radical book, so yes, absolutely.

It's not like Sam Worthington's name is on the cover for no reason at all.

by Eli Katz » Thu Aug 11, 2011 11:18 am

by guitarsmashley » Thu Aug 11, 2011 11:30 am

Eli Katz wrote:DETECTIVE COMICS #881 cannot be overhyped. This is one of the best single issues I've read in a long time. What's surprising, given that it's a concluding chapter in a superhero book, is that it focuses on a series of conversations -- first between Barbara and Jim Jr., then between Dick and Jim Jr., and finally between Jim Sr. and Dick -- and it avoids any of the usual action used to conclude a big arc. Yet the violence, the sadism, and the regret behind these conversations make each scene incredibly powerful.

Barbara Gordon, the invalid, stabbed in both legs, and unable to pull out the knives; Jim Jr. making sick, sarcastic references to the KILLING JOKE; extended discussions on Nietzschean supermen and the virtues of psychopaths -- this book is nightmarish on so many levels and in so many ways. The image of Barbara with two knives in her is jarring. The long rationalization of violence by Jim Jr. is obnoxious. And Dick's desperation in trying to find and save Barbara is incredibly suspenseful.

I'm going to pay this issue the ultimate compliment: Scott Snyder has written a Batman book that is as smart and terrifying as Christopher Nolan's THE DARK KNIGHT. I am stunned by Snyder's devilish imagination here.

The art is strong and appropriately creepy. Jock's pages are excellent, and Fancesco Francavilla's art has a weird simplicity to it that really conveys the sinister emptiness of Jim Jr.

DETECTIVE COMICS #881 is absolutely flawless. Go out and read it!

STORY: 10
ART: 10
OVERALL: 10

by Eli Katz » Thu Aug 11, 2011 11:49 am

by Punchy » Thu Aug 11, 2011 12:15 pm

by Eli Katz » Thu Aug 11, 2011 12:23 pm

by guitarsmashley » Thu Aug 11, 2011 12:23 pm

Eli Katz wrote:Yeah, I'm definitely going to hunt down the rest of the story.

by guitarsmashley » Thu Aug 11, 2011 12:24 pm

Eli Katz wrote:I think that this book is my first 10/10 for the RG.

by ****** » Thu Aug 11, 2011 12:37 pm

Punchy wrote:Eli Katz just gave 10/10 for a superhero comic!

What is going on with the world?

by Punchy » Thu Aug 11, 2011 12:39 pm

John Snow wrote:
Batman doesn't have superpowers.

If he could fly or shoot laser beams out of his eyes, this would have been at best a Punchy 6.