DC is at it again with another seasonal anthology, so, as usual, all of us reviewers are teaming up to cover the book and our new talent has thrown their hats into the ring as well. Let’s see what they thought!
Harley Quinn & King Shark: “Field Trip”
Aaron: After venting about spending birthdays in prison, King Shark realizes his empathetic doctor is Harley Quinn in disguise. Consequently, Harley decides to take him on a birthday trip that may give Miss Frizzle a run for her money. Unfortunately, their cartoonish adventure unexpectedly faces obstacles. For one, they use the sewer to escape into the swamp near Belle Reve like Shawshank Redemption (1994). Yet, they still run into characters like Swamp Thing, Zatanna, Green Lantern, Superman, and Mr. Mxyzptlk who complicates things. There is even a rare Ms. Gsptlsnz appearance!
However, nearly everything that happens feels convenient or doesn’t make sense. The loose but cheerfully cartoonish tone allows the duo to survive exposure to space or smackdown a 5th Dimensional being. Still, in the story’s defense, it is often dumb fun. Hal Jordan makes a “King Shark looks like Karshon” joke, Mxy scrambles some word bubbles, and Vasco Georgiey uses a Pac Man-like graphic to illustrate their escape. Otherwise, Superman’s briefs are too long and his crest is so wide that it covers his armpits.
Field Trip has several flaws, but the creative team feels proudly self-aware of its goofy scenarios. Despite her tainted past, the main idea seems to be that Harley has a big heart. Perhaps because she was a shrink, Harley befriends almost anyone she meets. Her non-judgemental attitude is endearing to the readers and characters alike. Overall, this was a mostly painless fluff story that won’t hurt to check out.
Score: 6/10
Batman: “Cold Feet”
Jack: It’s the annual Wayne Family Spring Ball, and Bruce feels reluctant to dance with even the most enchanting woman on the floor. He’s barely begun to explain his un-playboy-like behavior to a dubious Alfred when Mr. Freeze crashes the party and attempts to abduct a leading cancer research doctor in order to find a cure for his wife, Nora. He is, of course, thwarted by the Batman. Batman, however, does choose to pause the struggle to enlighten Mr. Freeze on a curiously thematic thought, and explains to him that these seemingly inexplicable occurrences, both their ongoing costumed struggles and a young bachelor’s apprehension for dancing may all be connected by a shared impetus: lost love. Krejewski’s slice of Gotham’s colorful nightlife is a touching, if trite examination of the importance of a person’s relationship with grief. This may hardly seem like fodder for such a compilation as the 2024 Spring Breakout, but the whole thing is played for the dramatic tension of something more like a Very Special TV Episode than any kind of harrowing moral drama. Wes St. Claire and colorist Ivan Plascencia handle the flashback that dominates the story with panache, even if this reviewer wishes they would lean a little more into the reflected/inverted characterizations of Bruce and Victor Fries in their artistic structuring. Overall, ‘Cold Feet’ is quick, clean, and finishes off with a little twist that I really should have seen coming, but didn’t. (Now you may all congratulate me on my humility in admitting that).
Score: 6/10
Teen Titans: “Relay For Your Life”
Chip: After a difficult few months, the Teen Titans head down to Cocoa Beach to enjoy their spring break. Robin tries his best to get everyone involved (don’t we all know that struggle) but just can’t seem to do it. In a last-ditch effort, Dick enrols them all in a relay contest but wouldn’t you know it, the Fearsome Five have entered too! The Titans lose. Hard. Luckily for us, an unexpected attack from Charybois allows them to remember the power of teamwork and all ends well. It’s been a while since I read a story set in the Titans’ early days, and for me, the period is a blast to revisit. If I can see Dick Grayson in his pixie boots, I’m happy. Because of my absence of knowledge of recent Teen Titans books, I have little to no context about the events before the story, but you get a pretty good little recap on the first page. I haven’t read any Fitzmartin books apart from that Dark Crisis YJ series which I often try to forget, but this story wasn’t nearly as bad. Not too long, not too short, and generally pretty harmless. Guidry turns in some solid art, and like I say, pixie boots are a win. So yeah, overall enjoyable, but nothing outstanding.
Score: 7/10
The Metal Men: “The Day the Robot Danced”
Jackson: “The Day the Robot Danced” begins, fittingly, like a send up to classic silver age stories. The plot of a rogue AI gone mad, the stuffy dialog, and the square-jawed protagonists all feel like it could have come right out of the 1960s. This makes it all the funnier when they run into a party of “tubular” spring breakers. Platinum is the highlight of all of this, as she immediately embraces the shift in tone and opportunity to let loose. The nonsensicalness is all part of the gag, including the flimsy justification for the Metal Men to participate in a surfing competition à la Batman (1966). Unfortunately, past the humor of the initial contrast, there’s not a lot here. The slapstick and characters all feel somewhat flat, which while fitting for their silver age roots, don’t give much to latch onto. The word “broski” also definitely starts to overstay its welcome. Scott Kolins’ art gets the job done in a workmanlike way, but it would have benefitted from leaning more into either the 60s homage or zany cartoonishness. Overall it’s a fun little story, but never very memorable.
Score: 6.5/10
Katana: “Soul Survivor”
William: When I saw Mike W. Barr was writing the Katana story in this special, I was immediately curious. He is her creator after all and hasn’t been very active in comics for a while. That said, moving past my initial interest, this isn’t a great story. It isn’t terrible but more than anything it feels clumsy and unpolished. The story centers on a villain trying to release her husband from Katana’s sword which results in several other entities being released as well. I think it’s unfortunate that even this character’s creator doesn’t have anything more interesting to say about the character than the standard “trapped in the sword” plot. Juxtaposing Katana’s own husband with this villain’s husband does technically work but it isn’t very interesting, especially since I have no connection to these villains who, as far as I know, are both new creations for this story. Plus they’re some of the most basic stock villains imaginable. The art at least is pleasant though certainly not particularly impressive. Its high energy does suit the plot, however, and does the heavy lifting when the dialogue gets clunky and the plot causes me to lose interest.
Score: 5/10
Lex Luthor: “Buried Alive”
Andru: The title of this short explains itself. Lex is buried several yards under the earth, fighting to get to the surface.
I don’t believe I’ve ever read a comic by Patrick Young, and I’m glad that I’ve been introduced to him through Spring Breakout. This short could be used as a crash course for a newcomer to the character of Lex Luthor. Young renders Lex’s core motivation for opposing Superman in a compelling way. Lex explaining the relentlessness of the human spirit while physically crawling out of a coffin was a particularly strong pairing of visual storytelling and dialogue.
While I can’t say that Nico Bascuñan’s art style is the one I would have chosen for this particular story, he does add a fun anime-influenced look to the piece. There’s a page showing Lex as a rotting corpse which is reason enough for reading this story.
Overall, “Buried Alive” is an enjoyable, brief little read that is worth picking up. In a climate where it feels impossible to keep track of continuity, a quick-to-the-punch story highlighting Lex as a villain is refreshing.
Score: 9/10
Martian Manhunter: “Shape-shift in the Park”
Akash: J’onn gets roped into watching over Coast City while Hal’s on Spring Break and ends up fighting Clayface while gaining an appreciation for theatre. It’s a mostly fun story, with the art using an in-house style that’s decent but not much more. I liked that we got to see the rare visuals of ‘a sunny day in the park’ used as the setting of the confrontation. Speaking of confrontation, the highlight of this story would have been the two shapeshifters changing into opposing heroes and villains to fight each other…
…unfortunately, I’m also a continuity buff and the part where Clayface turns into a White Martian to spook J’onn is where the story lost me entirely. Not only are we reminded that Clayface is back to being a willing supervillain (I have been told he has lost his memories, except in this story he can remember being on Batman’s side and could access the databases in the Batcomputer), apparently the fact that White Martians exist is a huge secret despite the fact that both times they’ve appeared on Earth they launched wide scale invasions! It’s the cherry picking of continuity in the service of a story that I find irritating, and when that story is not spectacular enough to justify it, being fun isn’t enough to stand out.
Score: 4/10
Superman: “Opening Day”
Chris: Nothing epitomizes Americana more than baseball, hot dogs, and Superman. In “Opening Day; ” writer Cameron Chittock, artist Marco Santucci, colorist Arif Prianto, and letterer Carlos M. Mangual come together to tell the story of Superman and Jimmy Olsen going to a baseball game and some shenanigans ensue. Manchester Black hijacks a new government aircraft, and it is up to the Man of Steel to save the day and prevent Black from causing mayhem at the game. Chittock’s story was pretty charming. It didn’t hit it out of the park necessarily , but it was solid base hit, maybe a double. Santucci’s illustrations and Prianto’s bright and vibrant colors perfectly encapsulated Superman’s essence. I also liked how Superman attributed baseball in making him feel more connected to humanity when he first got to Metropolis. And I appreciated that the moral of the story was that communal experiences like baseball games connects us to each other and makes us feel like we are apart of something bigger. Overall, this was a fun read and I wonder what Supes’ batting average would be.
Score: 7.5/10
Recommended if…
- You’d like to check out some new or lesser-known creators
- That image of dead Lex Luthor is pretty cool
- If you’re into short one-and-done stories, this is one of the few places you can still find them!
Overall
This looks like one of the better seasonal specials DC has put out with our crew averaging a decent score. These kinds of releases do provide something you don’t get from any other books published by DC (outside the Black and White backups in The Brave and The Bold). While not every story hits, I, personally, am glad we continue to get these, as a reminder of an earlier era of comics.
Average Score: 6.5/10
Disclaimer: DC Comics provided Batman News with a copy of this comic for the purpose of this review.
