Category: DC Icons

DC Icons #2
This book wasn’t quite what I was expecting, but I can’t say that I was disappointed. Having watched the batman cartoons growing up, and having seen every Batman movie of the last 30 years, I was expecting the caped crusader running around and beating up bad guys. What I got from Lu was much more cerebral. Much more about the psychology of reading people and understanding who they are. About digging deeper than what you see on the surface, and finding out what lies underneath.

If I were to have a complaint about Nightwalker, it’s that the pacing is a little slow for the “superhero” genre. Though it was there, I felt that there wasn’t quite enough ass kicking for it to feel like a superhero book. Also, I don’t feel like it took Bruce’s character quite far enough to give me the “Batman” feel. Where I was expecting a Batman origin story, I instead feel like we just got a snapshot of the journey…and I didn’t get the journey’s end that I was looking for.

But the characters and the plot were great. I was surprised by how much I came to enjoy the interactions between Bruce and Madeleine, even as I knew he was playing with fire. And seeing other cannon characters, such as Alfred, Lucius Fox, and Harvey Dent, was great. Overall, a fun read.

DC Icons #1
While I am a big fan of the superhero genre (in movies and cartoons), this is my first time reading it. I really enjoyed Bardugo’s take on Wonder Woman and her first foray into modern society. Diana was just what you would expect from a budding superhero: hungry to prove herself, yet still unsure of her abilities. The cast of support characters was great: Alia, Jason, Nim, and Theo all had their little quirks and idiosyncrasies, which made them unique and believable. The concept of the Warbringer was interesting, weaving moments of true history into the supernatural tale. The pacing was quick and fun, a great action-adventure read. As a stand alone, the plot is simple enough to be well-contained to this book, but still touched on some broader topics to give the book depth and character. There were a few things that I didn’t love about the ending, but I can’t speak much to them without major spoilers. Overall, a great read.