It’s been another hell of a week here in TV Land. I tripped and fell earlier and banged up my knees pretty bad. Nothing serious, but who needs this extra pain and suffering, am I right? Anyway, this week is more Batman.

Comic Book of the Week goes to Cheetah & Cheshire Rob the Justice League #5 because I love it when a plan comes together.

Meanwhile, I grabbed Marvel’s Cosmic Invasion game and it’s a pretty solid beat’em up so far. Nothing spectacular, but fun like these usually are. And I watched and thoroughly enjoyed the first part of the final Stranger Things finale. The show has still got it and I can’t wait for the rest of the season!

Comic Reviews: Batman #4 and Cheetah & Cheshire Rob the Justice League #5.

Batman #4
Writer: Matt Fraction
Artist: Jorge Jimenez
Colorist: Tomeu Morey
Letterer: Clayton Cowles

I’m just going to come right out and say it: Jason Aaron introduced a business villain called the Minotaur not too long ago in his Mighty Thor comics. And now we’ve got the business-minded villain called the Minotaur in Batman. Just sayin’.

A truck heist gone wrong sparks a gang war and we’re introduced to the Minotaur, a new criminal who has organized the city’s top crime families/organizations into the Torus, billed as an algorithm of efficiently run crime. This gang war is disrupting profits, so he gathers the leaders together to remind them that he means business. Meanwhile, Batman gets clued in on what’s happening.

Comic Rating: 7/10 – Good.

This issue is mostly spent setting up the Minotaur and the Torus, which is the name for the collection of criminal enterprises that he’s running the books for. And it’s fine. If I may be blunt, the whole set up just isn’t very unique or interesting. How many times have comics done some gang war/crime families organization storyline? And the only person in this crew I recognize is the Penguin. Are any of these others real crime families from Batman lore? Or are they all made up just for this moment? And the Minotaur is pretty much a straight forward business-minded villain guy, and his ruthlessness on display is pretty shallow as well. But the artwork and the writing is good, and even if it’s not breaking new ground, it’s still a solid set-up for upcoming Batman storylines. So it’s still cool.

I probably liked the rest of the issue a lot more. Bruce goes to visit his new love interest, that scientist working on the anti-psychotic helmet. They have a really cute scene together. We get a scene of that kid who captured the footage going to the newspaper — though, again, I think Faction just invents a brand new newspaper out of thin air, even given them a Daily Planet-esque building complete with spinning logo on top. That’s a little far-fetched when he could just use the Gotham Gazette and it wouldn’t create any issue. But that’s just nitpicking on my part. It’s still an intriguing storyline to follow as part of the overall tapestry. And we get a little bit of Batman action as he investigates the truck heist gone wrong, which is always fun.

TL;DR: The new villain isn’t very unique, but his introduction is lifted up by some other wise excellent writing, artwork and subplotting.

Cheetah & Cheshire Rob the Justice League #5
Writer: Greg Rucka
Artist: Nicola Scott
Colorist: Annette Kwok
Letterer: Troy Peteri

This might be my favorite comic book of the year, and end of the year awards are coming up!

The heist is in full swing, every piece falls into place, the Justice League is hoodwinked! Do our villains get away with the goods? Maybe there’s a double cross!

Comic Rating: 9/10 – Great.

This comic is fun as hell, and this is the issue where we get to the big heist, and that’s always especially fun! I’m sure this comic will be better read in the trade, with the whole story available at once, but it’s also easily enjoyable issue-by-issue. Who doesn’t love seeing a plan come together? And this is a plan involving all of our favorite superheroes, right in the heart of their HQ, with a ton of fun cameos! There was a random Monkey Prince cameo in this issue. Remember him, from 2021? Nifty! Anyway, back to the story, it’s great and a lot fun.

I know I nitpick a lot sometimes, but when a story is this good, nitpicking goes right out the window. Is this the greatest heist plan of all time? I don’t know and I don’t care, because I’m having so much fun with it. Rucka and Scott easily juggle all of their thief characters, as well as all of the Justice League characters, for a lot of controlled and entertaining chaos. There are so many moving pieces, and it all works so fluidly and with such fun. Like the idea of infesting the Watchtower with rats that are primed to explode, so that Red Tornado, the Watchtower’s oversight system, detects an insane amount of unauthorized lifeforms…that then start disappearing. Everybody thinks he’s malfunctioning, but he’s not, and that’s a hoot! And it’s just one example of all the nifty little ideas that comprise this heist. Such a good read.

Also, I enjoy the idea that Damian Wayne now has a cousin out in the world. I hope that doesn’t get forgotten.

TL;DR: The heist comes together with style and panache and a great balance of all the characters involved.

The comics I review in my Hench-Sized reviews are just the usual comics I grab from Comixology any given week, along with a few impulse buys I might try on a whim. So if there are any comics or series you’d like me to review each week, let me know in the comments.

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