Haden Blackman

It took me a week to slog through this crap as one chapter at a shot was all I could endure.

Bad enough this opening book in the series is an overlong and tedious chase scene with unbearably busy art with multiple clashing styles on each page, but the whole thing is presented in one of the most awkward and annoying formats for a book: a wobbly panoramic spread that opens up to be only seven inches tall but nearly two feet wide. Reading it anywhere but firmly on a flat surface is an annoying show more and clumsy chore. It's the sort of book that if dropped once while open, the bound pages are sure to start splitting from the cover.

Really, it's more a Where's Waldo? picture book than a story as it is purely Easter eggs. Hey, that guy looks like he was drawn by Jack Kirby! Hey, that guy from Chicago looks like Flattop from Dick Tracy! Hey, Dracs and Steins look like Universal movie monsters! Hey, pirates! Hey, Japanese robots! Hey, zombies!

Just to really drive home how self-indulgent this project is, the end matter has over two dozen pages listing all the music J. H. Williams III listened to while working on the art. Mostly vinyl, of course! And he specifies the color of vinyl! And which ones were picked by his wife! OMG!

And this is just Book One? No. Never again. show less

This book wraps up the storyline introduced and expanded upon in the first two volumes. This time, Batwoman gets some help from Wonder Woman to get to the bottom of the mystery of Gotham's missing children and the Medusa organization that's behind the kidnappings for unknown reasons. As I've mentioned many times before, I'm not a huge fan of crossovers in comics, but unfortunately that's just the way it is. In this case, there was a bit of logic to introducing Wonder Woman as this volume show more concerns itself a lot with mythology and mythological creatures; also, for lack of a better of term, it was cute to see Batwoman and Wonder Woman internally size each other, with Batwoman feeling like an imposter next to Wonder Woman and Wonder Woman being in awe of Batwoman's courage and bravery.

In addition to a lot of action sequences, this book has an interlude section where Kate Kane recalls her background before becoming Batwoman and reflects on her tense relationship with her father. Her other relationships are also explored to a lesser, but still important, extent. And while this book concludes one ongoing plot, its final pages reveal a shocker to keep the reader hooked for the next volume.

As usual, J.H. Williams III's illustrations are simply amazing, seemingly three-dimensional and full of detail. He continues to do interesting experimentation with the panels, including making a bird-shaped frame for page spreads dealing with Kate Kane's cousin Flamebird/Hawk Fire; another frame that starts out as bat ears for Batwoman and fluidly morphs into a star for Wonder Woman; and a couple of circular illustrations.

This is another great addition to the Batwoman storyline, and I look forward to reading Volume 4! show less

Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison by Haden Blackman. 2013. Dark Horse Books, 128 p. $24.99. ISBN: 9781616550592

Set several months after the events chronicled in Star Wars: Episode III, The Revenge of the Sith, Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison gives us a glimpse into the early formation of the Galactic Empire. The newly enthroned Emperor Palpatine falls victim to a coup attempt and it falls to his apprentice Darth Vader, a cyborg Grand Moff, and a young disfigured Lieutenant show more recently graduated from the Imperial Academy to stop it and restore order. Their plan is to locate and infiltrate a secret Jedi prison, containing captured prisoners form the Clone Wars and use them to create an army to defend the Emperor. As with anything in the Star Wars universe, however, things are not always what they appear to be and are never simple.

I found this to be a refreshing change to most of what I have read in the Star Wars expanded universe from the time between the films Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. This is also very different for me in that little of what I have read in general in the Star Wars universe have been graphic novels. I was not disappointed at all in my first foray into this genre. I found that the visual nature of the graphic novel lends itself to the telling of a great Star Wars story, but that a solid plot and story with relatable characters cannot be lacking. Fortunately Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison provided both.

The big surprise to me was the actual treatment of Darth Vader in this story. While he is a driving force behind the plot and a key figure throughout most of the story, in actuality he is more of a secondary character. This is not a bad thing at all because Darth Vader can be a dicey character to work with, as I have experienced in several Star Wars novels. Authors have tended to either miss the mark completely with him or made the character into more of a caricature to the great consternation of hardcore fans. Blackman is able to tread this fine line perfectly by minimizing Vader's dialogue and accentuating the fear and respect he commands in others while still showing the cold ruthlessness that is at the heart of this master villan.

The story would not work in this way were it not for the fact that it it told from the perspective of young Lieutenant Laurita Thom. Lt. Thom has recently graduated from the Imperial Officer Academy and soon after his graduation is caught in the middle of a coup against the Emperor. Choosing to place his loyalty behind Darth Vader we see how Thom, an unknown in the Star Wars lexicon before this, views the Dark Lord and the events surrounding him. This unique perspective, mixed with some history of the Old Republic not seen in the Star Wars prequel trilogy also shed some light on why many were loyal to the Empire and Emperor and disavowed the Old Republic and the Jedi Order. This perspective and history of "the other side" is something that has been lacking in understanding the rie of the Empire in Star Wars.

Overall Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison is a very fast read, but one that you will want to return to again and again as there are many subtle references and the characters are so compelling that you do want to truly spend more time getting to know them. It doesn't help that a surprise ending will leave you gasping and returning to the start to see if you missed any foreshadowing.

I recommend this to anyone, of course, who is a Star Wars or moreso a Darth Vader fan but is also interested in the fledgling Empire and its rise to power in the galaxy. Appearances by the Death Star and Grand Moff Tarkin from A New Hope will be very pleasant surprised to these fans as well. Young adult and adult fans alike will enjoy this fine addition to the Star Wars universe.

Four out of five stars. show less

Kate Kane is juggling taking her cousin under her wing, hooking up with a new lover, avoiding her dad, and, oh yeah, being Batwoman. Batwoman is on the case trying to track down some children who have gone missing under supernatural circumstances and is meanwhile herself being pursued by the Department of Extranormal Operations, who are dying to find out her real identity.

After having read Batwoman: Elegy when it came out, I was immediately in love with the new approach and backstory to show more Batwoman. This addition follows in the same vein and doesn't disappoint. The story isn't really self-contained, although there is enough of an introduction to catch new readers up to speed. However, this book ends with part of the mystery very much still up in the air for the next edition to pick up. In addition, there's a lot of crossover material going on here, so the better versed the reader is in the DC Universe, the more he or she will grasp of the nuances of character and etc.

Still, all in all, this made for an entertaining, fast-paced read that developed characters and had a number of interesting storylines. As with Batwoman: Elegy, J.H. Williams III once again stuns with his illustrations, creating gorgeous spreads that make use of realistic drawings, dynamic action shots, brilliant colors, and unique panel displays (including a few bat-shaped panel arrangements). Even if the story were awful, this book would be worth picking up for the illustrations alone. Luckily, the reader is treated here to both a compelling story and gorgeous artwork. show less