Shelly's Comic Book Shelf

The Year of the Blackest Night

2009-07-16T00:01:00.000-04:00

But first...

Batman 688
A decent Dick as Batman story. Not as fine and fun as Batman and Robin, but nice. And Two-Face is clever, no doubt about it.

Green Lantern 43
Prologue to Blackest Night. A nice, creepy look at the history of Black Hand.

Titans 15
Also a prologue to Blackest Night. And it's telling that the best issue of this book has little if anything to do with the Titans team. We finally, if murkily (and boy, does he narrate a lot and boy, is his narration self-serving and rather "oh, poor me"), learn what happened to Garth, but while the substitute Aquaman of the last Aquaman book is mentioned, Mera's role from that is glossed over with her absence noted here, and no mention I noticed of Garth being stuck in a helmet tank thingie because he couldn't breathe properly in the ocean or some such. That was the point I lost interest in that other book, so my memory is a bit cloudy, and clearly, I'm not the only one with that problem. The scene with Garth and Dick was nice, but this seemed to have nothing to do with the Titans other than it was the only logical place to stick Garth who must have a role in Blackest Night.

More reviews to come, Blackest Night and not so black nights. ;)

Let's Go to the Reviews!

2009-07-10T21:28:00.000-04:00

Booster Gold 22
I can't argue with a comic that features the Teen Titans of the Wolfman/Perez era. I was especially happy to see that Dan Jurgens remembered that Kory is rather tall, something the artists of the current Titans book often forget. I love how this comic plays with time and is sticking nicely to the current events, in this case, Dick as Batman. Well, no more because the Black Beetle has succeeded in killing him in the past. Good stuff here and the Blue Beetle story holds up the back of the comic most capably, managing in its few short pages to throw in action, adventure, and character development. I can't ask for more from a comic.

Green Arrow and Black Canary 22
I don't like the changes in Dinah's backstory, yet they worked well, which pretty much sums up my feelings about the book: I both like and dislike it. The writing has been decent, but the characters don't feel right to me. I imagine Ollie's sudden bloodthirstiness will have some sort of explanation that will make sense, but right now, it's just annoying. I'm not dropping it yet, because I don't hate it, but I'm not loving it, either. It's most annoying.

WildCats 11-12
The current storyline ends, sorta, even if the situation remains nasty. It's been a fun ride, and Maxine has never been more entertaining, and I'm looking forward to seeing what the incoming creative team does with this title.

Green Lantern 40-41 and Blackest Night 0
Aside from making me giggle with thoughts of the Color Wars we had when I was a kid in camp, the battle of the various Lantern color corps, leading into Blackest Night. Here's hoping Blackest Night lives up to its leadin.

Zorro 14
The story ends, but I hope the book will continue. This is grand fun.

Flash Rebirth 3
After what was, for me, a slow (!) start, the book is picking up steam. More flashbacks with Iris and Barry and a villain revealed. Okay, I'm now interested. This better not disappoint by story's end. ;)

JSA vs Kobra
Kobra is one of those badguy organizations in comics that I found truly scary, and it's nice to see not only Kobra back, but elements of Checkmate that hark back to the the intrigue that made Checkmate great.

The stack of unread comics continues to grow. More reviews, brief though they may be, soon, I hope.

Get Your Reviews Here

2009-07-03T19:42:00.000-04:00

I keep reading, and the stack keeps getting higher. That means despite cancellations of comics I like, there's still plenty to read.

Gotham City Sirens 1
I had to try this because of Catwoman and was pleasantly surprised. Paul Dini is a good writer whose work I've enjoyed in the past. He handles female characters well, and the three here -- Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, and Selina -- all have distinctive personalities. The art by March is nice enough, though I think Selina is a bit off. But the cartoonish aspects suit the book. A fun start to what I hope is a consistently entertaining title.

Detective 854
Starring Batwoman, by Greg Rucka, with art by JH Williams III. This jumps right into things, and Rucka clearly has control over his star character. She's fully realized and I love having her father be part of her team. no worry about keeping her crimefighting life a secret from him, a concept (keeping secrets from family) old enough to be cliche. Rucka, with Cully Hamner on art chores, is writing the backup story starring The Question. Renee tackles what looks like a small time crime that is leading to something bigger. I like both stars and with Rucka still guiding their adventures, I have high hopes for this book.

Booster Gold 21
The new Batman is worked into the story, only to have him eliminated from the timestream. The Black Beetle is back and Booster has his work cut out for him. Blue Beetle is back, too, in the backup feature, and writer Sturges picks things up pretty much where they were left off. Jaime is dealing with what happened to him at the end of his own book, not to mention a new threat, but with the best supporting cast in the DCU, the villains don't have much of a chance. I'm so glad to have Blue Beetle back, and in a book I already love.

Batman 687
Dick takes over as Batman in what turned out to be a nice, emotional story. The panels with Dick, Superman, and Wonder Woman are emotionally charged, and Alfred, as he does in the new Batman and Robin book, provides stability. He's the emotional center of these stories, the one person who understood Bruce more than anyone could, and who understands Dick as much. He knows how to be supportive, based on the personality of whoever is wearing the cowl. Good stuff. I might have to keep getting this.

Streets of Gotham 1
The Batman story in this didn't work as well for me, but I'm buying this book for Manhunter. It's great to have Kate Spencer back, and working in Gotham. The art by Jeanty and Story is nice enough, but not as good as the art when Kate had her own book. She looks too young, and everyone looks like they just walked out of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer comic. It's rather disconcerting, but the story gets off to a good start setting things up.

Batman and Robin 2
Morrison and Quitely continue their version of Dick Grayson/Batman and Damien/Robin, along with some of the creepiest villains ever to walk the pages of a DCU comic. Damien clearly needs to learn some discipline, and to develop some respect for Dick's authority. Lots of good character stuff, and entertaining if grim story, and fun art make this a must-read book. It's worth it just for the first page with Dick and Alfred.

Secret Six 11
Probably my favorite comic right now. The mismatched teammates form sides as the repugnant task they've unwittingly agreed to has some of the team wanting to void their contract and the others insisting they gave their word and have to go through with it. And when this team resorts to infighting, it gets ugly. And when Wonder Woman shows up at the end of this chapter... well, next issue should be even better than this one.

In Brief

2009-06-24T23:40:00.000-04:00

Some quickie reviews as I try, as usual, to catch up.

Justice League of America 34
Not bad. It wasn't the JLA that I particularly want to read about, but it was a nice enough conclusion to the current story arc.

Wonder Woman 33
Gail Simone concluded the Rise of the Olympian arc. Maybe. There's nothing new about Diana being on her own, without the Amazons, which is how this ends, but Gail made it feel fresh, and Lopresti's art, with inking by Matt Ryan, is among the best I've seen on this book.

Justice Society 27-28
A fill-in 2-parter by Jerry Ordway, with art supplied by Bob Wiacek, to bridge the gap til the new team takes over. The first half was better than the second, which got a bit bogged down with repition over the Hiroshima ghosts and it felt as if nothing was happening. But in essence, this felt stale.

Power Girl
Aside from my love for Amanda Connor's art, I found myself nearly breathless as PG tried valiantly to get free of the "crazy monkey guy" and I'm looking forward to seeing how she finally manages it. Palmiotti writes crisp dialogue, giving PG a strong personality. The cover is stunning.

Supergirl 42
Gates, Igle, and Sibal continue the restoration of Kara as a strong character who can carry a book on her own. This is a Kara with real feelings, deep emotional conflicts, a determination to do what's right, and a youthful energy to back it up. Finally, she has a supporting cast that actually supports her. Her scenes with Lana have been great, and in this issue, the interaction between Kara and Lois after Lois learns about Lucy's activities and death were painfully realistic. Kara/Supergirl is definitely back, and I couldn't be happier. Or more relieved.

Green Arrow and Black Canary 21
With the "clever" title of Green Arrow vs Black Canary. The lack of speech is a gimmick, but it's playing out better than I'd thought past the initial scene last issue (I think I'm remembering that correctly, but the book hasn't been all that memorable lately), with the words coming in thoughts only. Ollie has his hands full with his stalker, and while the book continues to be a disappointment (I'd hoped for more Nick and Nora Charles that some bad comedy act), this issue was better than expected. At least it wasn't dull.

Secret Six 10
A new story as creepy or more so than the last gets started, with the gang in a rather nasty predicament at the chapter's end. Good times, folks. This is my favorite team book right now.

Attention Span of a Gnat

2009-06-21T09:48:00.000-04:00

I have been reading comics, just not all that quickly, but I hope I have a good excuse. I've been playing with my new digital slr camera (a Canon Rebel T1i). I got a nifty macro lens for it and have been playing. This is a shot with the macro lens of the Catwoman Heroclix figure.

The pile of comics here continues to grow and I suspect it soon will be as tall as me (and I'm just under 5'3"). I'll get to them and reviews of them soonish, or at least, that's the plan.

Happy Father's Day to all fathers out there.

Short and Sweet

2009-06-13T00:52:00.000-04:00

The stack of comics waiting to be read is now a mountain. Actually, two of them. *sigh* Here's what I read recently.

Titans 14
I skimmed this. It focused on Vic. He ended up deciding a social life would be nice and went on a date. For some reason, I feel as if we've been through this before. Plus, it was boring.

Trinity 51-52
Nice end to this weekly series that cut to the heart of what makes Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman tick, and why they're the mind, heart, and soul of the DCU.

Greem Arrow and Black Canary 20
GA and BC see a marriage counselor, Dinah flashes back to discovering her Canary cry when she was a teen, Ollie's crazy stalker is back, and some other stuff happened. I must still be reading this for Ollie and Dinah; it can't be for the stories.

Justice League of America 33
Some nice moments for Dr. Light don't make up for the complete mess this book became. I appreciate the frustrations McDuffie had on this book re: editorial issues, but I'm hoping the next writer finds a way to make this work, because really, when the main characters become a sidenote in their own team book, something's wrong. And when the best part of a book is a preview for another book, well, that's the end right there.

Supergirl 41
Now here's a turnaround that worked. Rather than try to fix the mess left by his predecessors and risk making something murky murkier, Sterling Gates started writing a superior version of Kara, gave her a whole new outlook, a supporting cast that makes sense, and worked her into the overall Superman storyline to give SG a cohesive storyline and solid place in the DCU. His characterizations, pacing, dialogue, and plotting are first rate. After the big reveal of last issue re: Superwoman, he didn't stop with the surprises, and gave Kara a real jolt that will no doubt resonate for the next story arc and beyond. Kara matters again, and I couldn't be happier.

Wonder Woman 32
Gail Simone has really put Diana through the wringer since taking over this book and Diana is the better for it. She's stronger than she's ever been, physically and emotionally. She's a survivor, tough but fair, caring and determined, confident and capable, and when she's at her lowest, she claws her way back up, yet she never compromises her principles, no matter how frustrated, angry, or desperate she gets. As for where she and Tom might end up, who knows, but there's nothing simple or cliched about their relationship.

Batman and Robin 1
I haven't read an actual Batman book, other than the crossovers (notably The Search for Oracle and the gangwar storyline when Stephanie Brown was supposedly killed). I read the peripheral titles, mainly Nightwing, Catwoman, and Birds of Prey. I was getting tired of Bruce and as with Superman, decided, when I returned to comics in the mid-'90s, to not read the main Batman and Sueprman titles to help keep things manageable (yeah, that coulda worked out better). But I knew Dick won the cowl, so I picked this up, trusting Morrison and loving Quitely's art, and I was far from disappointed. This was fun. Creepy villains, strong dialogue, perfect characterization, and a sense of wonder put this title on my pull list. I don't know Damian well, and I don't really like him, but he's a good counterpoint to Dick. Personality-wise, Dick and Bruce were very different, and that holds for Dick and Damian. Dick and Tim would've lacked that byplay, as they have felt more like brothers when they've teamed up in the past. Dick and Damian have the feel of the old Bruce and Dick team, with a difference, a role reversal when their personalities are considered. Quitely's art is the perfect complement, catching nuances in expressions and filling in details in the backgrounds. The book is a perfect jumping on point and it's a great example of the sort of thing that made me fall in love with comics in the first place.

Zorro 13
This continues to excel, getting better and better with each issue, with its new spin on an old, beloved character. Solid writing and art keep this book on my list of favorites.

Justice League without McDuffie

2009-05-29T10:50:00.000-04:00

McDuffie's off Justice League of America. I first saw the news here.

First off, unlike many other people, I enjoyed Brad Meltzer's run on the book. He gets the characters -- well, most of them -- and he actually wrote about them doing stuff.

Second, I get that McDuffie didn't get to decide who was on the team. It's a team book, it's one of DC's main titles, and while I can understand wanting to tweak it to your own liking, my feeling is that not being happy about the characters you're writing on a team book isn't that much different than being given Batman to write, then not wanting Batman in it. He had to understand going in who he'd be writing about. Right?!

He certainly wasn't inspired by the group he was writing. He seemed to do all he could to avoid writing about them. Oh, sure, he started out with them, sticking them in situations and having them deal with that. But in the last couple of arcs, other characters took precedence. The guest stars were taking over, never a good thing. When a book's stars become marginalized, the book loses focus and alienates fans of the starring characters, thereby making the book largely irrelevant, something JLA should never be. Even when dictated to by Editorial, there are good ways of handling things and not so good ways. The author still gets to write the words.

I do fault DC for coming up with their alternate JLA to be led by Hal and Ollie, but still, McDuffie dropped the ball in dealing with that. Instead of having Dinah's group take on the challenge, he wrote her acting out of character (more petulant shrew here than emotionally and physically strong and capable), fragmented the group that remained, and basically told us readers he didn't care, anymore, because that's how it felt reading the last couple of issues.

This quote from McDuffie is troubling:

"I’m distressed by where I left Black Canary, as my intention was to use the current subplot to strengthen her character and relationships with the new membership, and instead I’m leaving her at the bottom of a hole I’d intended to rebuild her from."

Uh, hello... Dinah isn't really yours to rebuild. Not that she's in BoP -- or that there is a BoP, anymore -- but that book left her in a very strong place when she left, meaning, she was someone who wouldn't plunge into that hole by what he wrote happening. Then there's that book she stars in -- Green Arrow and Black Canary -- that has more influence on who and what she is (not that she's perfectly in character there, but that's another discussion for another time).

He says he was fired for revealing back scenes info rather than for sales or creative issues, which is a shame, actually, because I thought the creative quality of the book took a downturn in recent months, and I think a dismissal should be based more on the merits of the book, not statements made by the talent. A warning should have sufficed if his indiscretions were really the reason for the dismissal. I do wish him well. I hadn't read his stuff prior to JLA, but I've been told he's a good writer. This book clearly wasn't the best fit for him.

I was seriously considering dropping the book, but now I think I'll keep it on my pull list in hopes the new writer will find the members of the Justice League an inspiration.

In a bit, I'll be off to collect my 2 weeks' worth of comics now that I'm back home. Reviews will be delayed while I try to catch up. I did see the new Star Trek movie while I was away, and all I can say is that it rocked. Just awesome, and I have to see it again for all the little bits I missed (seeing it in IMAX really blew my mind), such as the tribble on Scotty's desk (a friend mentioned it to me after).

Reviews Before Vacation

2009-05-17T15:33:00.001-04:00

I'm on vacation. I'm also recovering from a nasty cold. I'm really tired of not feeling well. I'm also going away for 10 days, so no new comics until I get home.

I did get some comics read.

Battle for the Cowl: The Network 1
I couldn't help but wonder why characters listed on the title page didn't appear, yet Ragman, who did appear, wasn't listed for the Network. Other than that, this was a serviceable story that served well the who Batman is gone so the Bat family needs to fill in theme.

Booster Gold 20
A cute fill-in issue.

Secret Six 9
Another Battle of the Cowl tie-in and an awesome one at that. Bane, Ragdoll, and Catman put their own spin on keeping Gotham's citizens safe. Finally, the Ragdoll as Robin that we've been waiting for! One of the best DC titles right now.

Battle for the Cowl: Oracle 3
Up until the last scene in the hospital, I was enjoying this story. I don't know that Babs revealed herself too much to Calculator, but it did seem odd to see her there. Wendy waking up without need of the anti-life equation seemed anti-climactic, and her suddenly paralyzed legs would suggest her as a new Oracle, but that would mean Babs doing something else and other than becoming Batgirl again, which I would hate because it means being "girl" again and of lesser status than Batwoman who has less experience as a "cape" than Babs has. It would be a step backward. And yet, at the end of this story, Babs still can't use her legs. So, as with a lot of big stories in DC lately, the end isn't really an end, just a lead-in to something else, but we don't know what. And I'm left feeling that the Birds were disbanded for this? WTF?

Power Girl 1
A nice start to PG's new series. Gray and Palmiotti have a nice style that suits Karen and Amanda Conner's art is perfect, being fun and sexy and expressive, without being exploitive.

Flash Rebirth 2
Barry still leaves me cold. There, I've said it. Gorgeous art. The Black Flash sounds interesting. And some nice bits were fleshed out to Barry's past.

Wonder Woman 31
A solid issue, but although Chang's art is decdent, I want Lopresti back on art.

Justice Society of America 26
A lovely final issue from Johns and Co. Courtney's birthday plus trip to the dentist to have her braces removed was charming and really shows she's the heart of the JSA right now. Good show, guys! The next team has a lot to live up to.

Abundance of Reviews

2009-04-23T00:46:00.000-04:00

Playing catch-up.

Detective 853
I don't think I posted a review of the first part of this 2-parter by Neil Gaiman. That was, as I recall, in an issue of Batman. This was delayed, I guess since I've mostly forgotten the first half which I read right away. It had to do with Batman's funeral. A rather surreal funeral that continues here with all sorts of people talking. Bat foes all claim credit for killing Bats and by the end, I couldn't help wondering what the point was. This seemed to be Bruce reflecting on his life as he is dying, but given what we now know about his death, it makes no sense to me. Andy Kubert's art is nice. But I was expecting more from such a big name writer as Gaiman. Or am I missing something because the only Bat books I've read since returning to comics in the mid-'90s have been BoP, Nightwing, and an occasional Robin, plus the Huntress Year One and Robin Year One minis.

Supergirl 40
Okay, I didn't see that coming. Maybe because I'm not a regular reader of the Superman books other than Supergirl, but really, I was surprised by the big reveal. I will not reveal it here, not even with a spoiler warning. That just wouldn't be fair because it's hard to not see something like that even with a warning. I loved the cover, but I wish it had more closely matched the last panel of the story. Inside, Kara pulls off Superwoman's mask, having figured out who she is. On the cover, a shcoked Kara stares at Superwoman, seen from behind, who reveals herself. The cover is lovely, but I would've prefered an angry or determined Kara yanking off Superwoman's mask on the cover, without revealing her face.

Trinity 47
More of the same, not as good a weekly as 52 was, but as good or sometimes better than Countdown to Crisis was. Almost over now; I hope to see a big finish.

Justice League of America 32
All I can say is, huh? Which beats my first reaction: WTF? A lot of people have recently decried the boobification of DC's covers lately. Oracle is viewed from above, her cleavage on display. And there have been others. But the Oracle cover didn't bother me. The GA/BC cover was simply ugly, which fit nicely with the story inside, so it didn't bother me, either. But I don't get this cover at all, as in Why is Dr. Light on the cover representing the JLA when she's just joined the team and isn't a big name, hardly a selling point. As in Why is she in the grasp of the latest big bad who is biting her neck while she appears to be unconscious. Yeah, that'll pump up sales, among the Love to See Women Victimized crowd. Seriously, sexy women? Not a problem for me. Show some cleavage/skin? Fine as long as it's a grown woman and not a teen girl like Kara. And while showing our heroes in danger is always a good way to hook readers -- the Ooo, how will they get out of that deathtrap? factor -- it is preferable for the good guys/gals to actually be fighting to survive. She tried to fight back in the story, so why not on the cover. Why is she ... uh... out like a light? This annoys me. Not the sexy art (provided it's anatomically correct/possible/doesn't defy the laws of physics/anatomy), but this crap that demeans Dr. Light, while giving no real sense of the group aspect of a group book.

As for the story, half is talking heads talking talkity talk. So nice to hear Supes explain to Dinah why they made her leader and why the JLA needs her and then to see the remainder of the team she disbanded get together to keep it going and talking about Dinah, yadda yadda yadda, so that by the time the actual story starts, we have time for Shadow Thief to resurrect Starbreaker who drains Dr. Light's power or much of it, for himself, and then disappear with her going after him. And now Roy isn't in the book, away on leave, so why am I still reading this? I know people didn't like how Brad Meltzer paced his stories, being that he's a novelist who is used to having time for setup, but McDuffie is a practiced comics writer and his pacing is as bad or worse. At least Brad wrote interesting things happening and his talking heads scenes were on-target characterization.

Even the art by Rags Morales (pencils) and John Dell (inks) was ho-hum. Feh.

Zorro 10-12
This just gets better and better as California history and Spanish politics meets the superhero genre where the good guy wears a mask and a cape and carves a Z as a calling card, sometimes on the face of the enemy. This is a novel in comics that is paced just right.

The Lone Ranger and Tonto 2
This is a standalone followup to the first non-continuity Lone Ranger and Tonto. Not as strong as the Lone Ranger title, but a well told story about a town of monsters. Maybe. A good jumping on point for people curious about this new version of the beloved character.

Jack of Fables 32
Wherein Jack learns something that changes well, everything he knows about himself and puts a new spin on his relationship with the Page sisters. I so love this comic.

Battle for the Cowl: Commissioner Gordon
Always nice to see Gordon, especially when he's on his own, but really, was this actually necessary? It isn't memorable enough for me to be glad I got it, but it wasn't a waste of money, either.

Green Lantern 39
Agent Orange brings another color to the mix. heh I think we're gonna need a color chart before this is done and we're into Blackest Night. Another solid installment from Geoff Johns and Philip Tan's penciled art (inked by Jonathan Glapion) is stunning.

WildCats 8-10
Issue 8 featured Maxine, with fill-in art by Pete Woods whose art I like better on the book than Googe, although Googe does a nice job. I just don't like his style on the book and it seems Woods was aiming to keep to that style as best he could. Maxine isn't my favorite WildCat, but she was quite enjoyable in this story focusing on AIs and robots just trying to survive post-Armageddon. The next two issues continue the story of a lunatic Majestic. I love these characters, even if every carnation of them seems different than the last, and it's nice having them back on a regular basis.

Simon Dark 17-18
There had been no indication that the book was a limited series, so I don't know if this was planned to end here or it was canceled, though probably the latter is the case. In any rate, it all read like a horror novel and it ends in just the right way/place. It wasn't a favorite book, but I did get sucked in and will be sorry to not see it next month.

And that's it, until I read some more. Next up, a couple of issues of Madame Xanadu, and a whole lot more.

Quickies

2009-04-18T14:32:00.000-04:00

I think I have too many interests. That would explain why I fall behind with everything. So, here are some quick thoughts on a few comics from the last two weeks.

Secret Six 8
Another steller issue. Worth it alone for the cover with Lawton at knife point. The change of pace socialization was well done and the Ragdoll backup was adorable.

Booster Gold 19
More goodness, with double Booster. And poor Michelle. I fear Booster might lose his sister again, for good.

Battle for the Cowl 2
If that really is Jason posing as Bats, I really wouldn't mind seeing him die again. That beating and stabbing of Tim was uncalled for. And Tim is better than that. Artwise, Tim was just plain off. He's supposed to still be a teen, right? In some panels, he looks as beefed up as Jason, if that really is him, or even Dick, especially in that last panel with the batarang sticking out of his chest. Just because he's wearing the uniform doesn't mean he's suddenly a mature man. Or is he wearing padding, which would help that wound not be fatal. Dick was fine in this, but this is not making me suddenly want to buy all the Bat books, even if Dick does become Bats after this mini-series is over. I'll have to think long and hard if I want to read about Dick as Batman.

Oracle 2
I'm really enjoying this. Some cliche bits -- the thugs trying to mess with Babs played out predictably, and the geeks are appropriately geeky -- but Babs, her cover cleavage angle notwithstanding, is a strong force here.

Green Arrow and Black Canary 19
Not awful, not great, just so-so, average, run-of-the-mill storytelling. I'd hope for more from this book. At least Judd wrote fun dialogue. I'd hoped for something like Nick and Nora Charles from the Thin Man. This is more generic superhero married couple. Except that Dinah is getting on my nerves here.

The Spirit 27
A few people have said this is better, if not quite at the top level when Cooke was doing it, so I gave it a try, in the middle of a story, as it turns out, but it was better. The story has real weight and the art is fairly nice. I'll wait a bit before I put it back on my pull list, but I'm happy to see the improvement.

In a Flash

2009-04-07T00:38:00.000-04:00

For once, a clever (I hope) post title. But before we get to the Scarlet Speedster, some other reviews.

Except for Nightwing, BoP, and Catwoman, I haven't read the Bat books for years. A lot of years. I even skipped the Batman RIP issues that weren't one of the aforementioned 3. So, here I am, reading the Battle for the Cowl and related titles (I'm skipping the Man-Bat one and maybe some others). The Gotham Gazette 1 issue was a fairly nice read, giving us glimpses of Vicki Vale, Stephanie Brown, and Leslie Tompkins coping with a much more dangerous Gotham. I did like that the focus was on women.

Batman: Battle for the Cowl 1 was pretty good, too, given that it featured Nightwing, along with Robin and Catwoman and others. Not sure where this is going or where I'd like it to go yet. I'm reserving judgment on this, and just going with the story.

Justice Society of America 25
Wow, I had tears in my eyes. It's sad to see Isis so depraved when once she was a stablizing influence on Black Adam, bringing out the shreds of goodness he still had. And boy was Shazam the Wizard pissed. While I would've liked to see him restore things to what they'd been re: the Marvel family, this was actually better. Wizards don't have to be all good and fair when they're on the side of right. This rang true. I hope Mary is finally "cured" of her dark side, even if she and Billy have lost their powers. But it was the page near the end when it's announced that everyone is staying with the JSA because, as Wildcat said: "You don't give up on family."

And now, Flash Rebirth 1
Disclaimer: I was never a big Barry Allen fan. I read the old Flash comics because back in the '60s and '70s, I was reading pretty much everything superhero that DC published. Atom. Hawkman. Atom and Hawkman. Green Lantern. Lois Lane. Even Jimmy Olson. And Flash was my least favorite. Well, except maybe for the Jimmy Olson book.

I never read Barry's death in Crisis on Multiple Earths. I'd stopped reading an issue or so before that with the death of the original Supergirl. I was a Kid Flash/Wally West fan (and even he wasn't my favorite sidekick/Teen Titan -- that was Speedy/Roy Harper). I read much of the Wally West Flash books and enjoyed them. While I was happy to have Ollie back from the dead and Hal rehabilitated, I was in no rush for Barry to return. What they did with him and the Speed Force in the recent Crisis made sense, or at least, didn't make no sense, so I'm okay with it. I just don't know where Rebirth is going and I'm not sure I care.

I'm trying to care, mostly for Jay and Wally, and Wally's wife and kids, characters I do love. I can understand how Barry feels disoriented, out of place. I can understand Wally feeling a bit displaced. But the whole issue felt kinda flat. The art was stunning, the facial expressions well drawn by Van Sciver, but much as I love Geoff Johns' writing, this didn't grab me the way the return of Green Lantern/Hal Jordan did. I'm gonna stick with it, because I trust Johns, but right now, something is missing for me. I'm just not sure what it is.

Oracle

2009-03-27T23:21:00.000-04:00

I read Battle for the Cowl: Oracle 1 last night and enjoyed it. The art was wonderful. Babs, and everyone else, looked real, and the emotions really came through in the art by Lopez, Pasarin, and Bryant. I liked that for once, someone thought to show how difficult it can be to be disabled, in this case, paralzyed from the waist down. Sure, we've seen how hard it has been for Babs to get around and to defend herself. The Hunt for Oracle did a great job with that. But this showed some more of the everyday sorts of things that have become a challenge. The simple act of taking a shower, for example, was beautifully depicted. Babs has to use her hands to lift her legs in order to pull off and on her jeans and underwear. She needs to sit in the shower and needs something to grab onto to get in and out of the tub. The little things we take for granted are big things for Babs to deal with. Kevin Vanhook showed a real feel for Babs so far.

All of which are why I've never wanted her to regain the use of her legs. It's so important for there to be disabled characters to be role models for disabled readers. Babs, as Oracle, shows you can succeed despite being unable to walk. She had to remake herself after she was shot, from an active costumed crimefighter to a more sedentary hacker to the costumed crimefighting community and as leader of her Birds of Prey. Being disabled is the one minority anyone can join at any time. And without warning.

And much as I see her as confident and don't like her bouts of doubt, I can see that as realistic, too. Things went bad and she took the failure personally. Anyone can doubt themselves and someone with physical limitations might very well suffer occasional blows to her confidence.

The scene with her father rang true, too. After all, I'm a grown daughter of a father still living.

As for the story, Calculator has made himself a major player in the DCU, someone I no longer can dismiss as a lightweight villain.

While I don't want to see Babs walk again (yeah, I know, I sound cruel), I'll accept it if it makes sense in the story and for Babs. What I don't want is for her to be Batgirl again. She's not a girl and that would be a step backward. She can't be Batwoman, because someone else has filled that role. I'd like to see her remain Oracle, but still able to don a costume and go into the field as needed. She'd need another name, though, because she can't compromise Oracle's hidden identity.

I have high hopes for this mini in the midst of the Battle for the Cowl storyline and so far, I'm impressed. I hope I won't be disappointed by the outcome, but as long as the resolution is logical and well done, I probably won't be able to complain. Much. ;)

One Good, One Bleh

2009-03-25T19:24:00.000-04:00

I got two comics read on the way home today. Well, three, actually, but I don't see the point in continuing to review Trinity. I liked it, same as all the other issues. It's one damn, long story, with no real surprises, just nice moments, decent art, and it's nearing its end. Nuff said.

Okay, so that leaves the two comics I actually am reviewing. One was oh so good and one was WTF? One was Wonder Woman 30 and one was Justice League of America 31. Wanna guess which was good and which was decidedly not good?

I'll start with the good, then end with the rant.

Wonder Woman 30 was probably Gail's best WW issue to date. It had emotion, drama, passion, fury, action, joy, love, and intrigue. It had Diana's ire and loyalty to friends. It had Diana's determination to save Etta. It had Steve Trevor (!). A likeable Steve Trevor who is Diana's friend as well as Etta's worried husband. It had Etta's bravery. It also had Cheetah's lunacy and Morrow's cowardice and... well, the man can waffle with the best of 'em. Good, bad, whatever, he sure isn't indifferent. We got Achilles! We saw the return of Amazons and Hippolyta embracing the returning Bana-Mighdall sisters. I was breathless by the end of this installment. I can't remember when I found Wonder Woman this entertaining and emotionally satisfying.

Which makes Justice League of America 31, and pretty much all of McDuffie's run, so perplexing. The book has Wonder Woman in it. It has some of DC's best, strongest characters, and yet, it's being run into the ground, both as a comic and the group in its pages. I really miss writers who get the characters and can show conflict without compromising the principles of those characters, or even their essence. And the annoying thing is, McDuffie is close to getting them right. They're just enough off to serve the story, which makes every bit of character development come across as plot-driven. The needs of the story dictate the characters' actions, rather than the characters moving the story.

The only bit that makes sense is no Batman because he's (currently) dead. When Diana and Kal talk about Bruce, it was the most honest emotion in the book. The second and only other honest emotion was Dinah and Roy, and even that had a false note because I got the sense that Roy was quitting the JLA not because of what happened with Kendra (which now looks like it was planned all along to give Roy a reason to quit, rather than because they really liked each other, only to have her call him by Carter's name during sex, which makes that doubly obvious a plot device), but because McDuffie is breaking up the JLA (for whatever reason) and Roy was an easy character to get rid of.

Dinah's scene with Ollie and Hal just sucked. Dinah annoyed because Ollie embarrassed her?! Give me a break. The talk she had after with Babs about sexism was fine, and the points made in that conversation were valid, but Dinah was acting like a woman who'd lost control of the group and was looking for scapegoats. Hal and Ollie weren't even in the JLA (John is supposed to be the GL of record). The sniping in the last scene, leading up to Dinah disbanding that 'branch" (WTF? Branch?) of the JLA, felt so wrong. All the cheap shots showed a group in disarray, not worth saving. Is it really possible that without the big 3, there can never be a JLA because no one else can get along?

Dinah is one of the strongest female characters DC has. She doesn't need to punch her husband because she felt embarrassed by him to prove it. She's not only physically capable, she's emotionally tough. The entire scene was unnecessary. A quick page to recap, show her feelings, mention the other group Hal is forming that Ollie's joining would've been enough. Instead, we get 10 pages (!), followed by another page with Dinah talking to Babs about it. That's nearly half the issue. For what? I have no idea why McDuffie dragged this out like this, but whatever his reason, it didn't work.

This was one long talking heads issue. Nothing really happened, other than to break up the team. Given that nothing much has happened of consequence since Brad Meltzer left the book, I'm wondering if there really was a team to break up. If McDuffie has great plans here, I'm not seeing the clues. What I am seeing is that the one reason I've been sticking with this book just walked out on the group. Yup, Roy.

And if he's really off for good, and Titans is the only place I get to see him monthly, I will be one very unhappy Roy Harper fan, because, let's face it, Titans makes Justice League of America look like Shakespeare, and I've been thinking of dropping it. Now I'm thinking of dropping Justice League, too.

I did like the cover. The interior art by Davis and Hope was nice, but some large panels (3 per page in too many instances) made it obvious that there wasn't much substance to this installment.

And I'm hoping the rest of this week's comics make up for this mess.

Reviews Weekly

2009-03-22T12:12:00.001-04:00

Well, it seems as if I'm doing this by the week, not the day, anymore. I've had a nasty cold this week, but it's starting to get better. Anyway, here's what I read the last week or two. And I'm going to stop commenting on Trinity unless something super great or something I don't like happens, because it's been a nice, steady little weekly book and I rarely have anything interesting to say about it.

Titans 11
This has gotten rather tiresome. I buy it because Roy is in it. The whole day in the lives of the Titans seemed rather old, even as written by McKeever. And I didn't like the bickering between Roy and Donna. I don't like when she's written as meddling, even with people she cares about, and I don't like Roy sniping at her. If I thought this was going to build into something solid, like maybe them getting back together, fine, but I get no such sense. All it feels like is a hit-and-run bit among other hit-and-run bits of supposed character development. Sure, Donna can be a Mother Hen with her closest friends, but she's also been shown in the past resenting when they keep coming to her with their problems, which leaves her as a rather wishy-washy character and she isn't. Actually, this felt like a "let's mention Lian instead of actually showing her" kind of scene. Maybe a scene with Donna joining Roy and Lian at the park and having the discussion about leadership on the team might've been more interesting. Ah, well, we did get a glimpse of Lian in bed, so that's something. Meanwhile, the whole Raven/Gar relationship or non-relationship has me both confused and bored.

Secret Six 7
Wow. Gail really delivers with this story and this book. While I've found her run so far on Wonder Woman uneven, ranging from incredible to merely good, her work with this team has always been topnotch. This quirky band of villains and sometimes villains who may or may not give a shit about each other makes for entertaining reading and real emotion in her hands. And I think Tarantula nailed it when she theorizes that Lawton betrayed the team to save them, no matter his protestations otherwise. Lawton is definitely not a hero, but he's no villain, either. Like Catman, he's a complicated character who skirts the law for his own reasons. The climatic battle did not disappoint, nor did Scandal, at the end. And Scott and Hazlewood make for a super art team.

Green Arrow and Black Canary 18
I'd probably enjoy this more -- and the story is intriguing -- if Ollie wasn't acting more like a jerk than usual. Dinah's look of fear/horror on the cover didn't help, either, giving her the image of the "helpless female." Horror, fine. But anger and determination would've been better than fear. Actually, the whole pose of her and Ollie embracing with the body there made for a bizarre image that didn't fit the characters. I'd really hoped for more from this book. At least Judd got the banter right.

Booster Gold 18
This book continues to deliver the goods. Booster and Booster made for a potent team and the matter of having saved Michelle by pulling her out of the timestream is about to have its repercussions because there always are repercussions and I'm glad that hasn't been forgotten. Michelle now knows she was supposed to die and how. If ever a creative team knows how to keep readers wanting more, this is the team. Jurgens packs in the emotion without overdoing it, and his cliffhangers are neither melodrama nor stunts. They're simply compelling. And we get Blue Beetle as a back-up feature in an extended version of this book soon. I can't wait!

Brave and bold 22
Aside from Ollie's screwing up, he made up for it, and Hal and the Stranger did their part, and the ending was moving. I really cared about Cora and the resolution was a good one.

Green Lantern 38
Still setting up Blackest Night, but the exploration of Carol's character was much appreciated. Meanwhile, Hal's not himself. heh Anyway, I'm ready for the big event to begin. More than ready.

Supergirl 39
Real emotion in this title. Finally. The new direction has been great and really tying Kara in with the Superman characters and books, as she should be, given she's Kal's cousin. When she tells Lana that she wished her mother had been the one to die instead of her father, I felt that emotion. Well done. It's a helluva admission for a daughter to make, but one that, given the circumstances, rang true. And Lana, in providing support and comfort, finally gives this version of Supergirl a strong supporting cast, or at least, the start of one. Along with Jamal Igle, the regular penciller on the book, Talent Caldwell is also credited for that chore as well as sharing the inking with Jon Sibal, which might explain the wide variation in Kara's face, especially in 3-4 pages near the end with her mouth and eyes looking like an entirely different character, or one being drawn by a different artist in the middle of the story. In one panel, her lips seemed to be twice the thickness as the rest of the panels on that page, and in another panel on the following page, when she's looking at a picture of Superwoman, she looks like she was drawn by someone else entirely. It's rather disconcerting, but if Igle needed help to get the book out on time, I'm okay with it.

Jack of Fables 30-31
Such lovable lunacy with a point in a story where reading for your life is an imperative. Truly, comics don't get better than this.

Crafty

2009-03-03T13:01:00.000-05:00

You Would Be a Crafty Superhero

You are naturally curious and even a bit of a snoop. You like to have dirt on everyone - both enemies and friends.

You need a lot of freedom in your life. You like to do your own thing, and you don't fit into any normal mold.

Through lots of life experience, you understand the world well. You can often predict what people will do before they even think of doing it.

You tend to feel apart from the rest of the world. You don't really fit in, and you don't try to!

You are a true intellectual. You are thirsty for knowledge, and you are curious about the world.

What Kind of Superhero Would You Be?

I couldn't resist doing this one, or posting it here instead of my main blog.

Upon Review

2009-03-01T22:28:00.000-05:00

I really need to stop falling behind on posting these.

Justice Society of America 23-24
Nice Marvel Family action here -- and where is Freddie, anyway? And a decent Origins and Omens backup story in 24.

Blue Beetle 36
Damn, I'm gonna miss this. Jaime and the scarab find a good way out of the mess they're in. This has been one of DC's best, most consistent books. Of course, that was the kiss of death for it.

Trinity 39
Still enjoyable, though it's getting hard to find interesting things to say about it.

Wonder Woman 29
The action is ratcheted up as the book explores some serious issues, continuing with the meaning and power of Diana's lasso. The Olympians storyline promises to be good. I have faith that Gail can deliver. She seems to have hit her stride on this book. The Origins and Omens backup story is one of my fav O&O stories. "No, Sir Thomas of Cleveland, it is just the Queen." I chortled. Anyway, it was nice seeing Queen Hippolyte and Tom. Theirs is an interesting relationship.

Supergirl 38
The mystery of Superwoman has been well-played so far and I'm really curious. I'm not up on all the Superman books of the past decade, so I have no guesses as to her identity, but I am enjoying Kara's frustration. It was nice seeing her back at Lana's.

Birds of Prey 127
I know people haven't liked this last issue. The book didn't go out with a bang, but more a whimper, but I think that is really setup for the Oracle mini-series and what the future holds for Babs. She's a confident character and she's faced and beaten failure before, so to get her to the point where she needs to rediscover or redefine herself, or whatever the mini will lead to, she needed to be brought back to the brink of despair, or at least, confusion, a strong blow to her confidence, something that will get her to disband the Birds, at least for now (I hope it's not permanent), so she can take some time. Sure, they could've ended on a more upbeat note, with that bang people want and which Blue Beetle gave us, but I thought this worked. It didn't feel like an ending, just a break with the promise of more to come.

Justice League of America 30
The integration of these Shadow Cabinet characters into the DCU was the purpose of the story, which while good, felt forced. The byplay between Roy and Kendra in the Origins and Omens story was well done.

Wildcats 7
I'm starting to adjust to Neil Googe's art on this book, but it still doesn't feel right. Fortunately, the story's been enjoyable and it's good having this group of characters back.

May Solicits

2009-02-19T01:23:00.000-05:00

There are a number of comics from DC in May that look interesting, even cool, but none has me as eager to read it as this one:

Secret Six 9
Written by Gail Simone; Art by Nicola Scott and Doug Hazlewood; Cover by Nicola Scott
Not one, but two members of the Secret Six feel they deserve to wear Batman's cowl, and they return to Gotham City with a semi-delusional Ragdoll determined to be the new Boy Wonder! Unfortunately, everybody in Gotham has other plans!

Seriously! I can so picture Ragdoll as the Boy Wonder. Can't you?

So Many Comics

2009-02-16T12:10:00.000-05:00

I've been falling behind again. I can blame an addiction to a Facebook game, but really, it's more my inability to concentrate for long on anything. Still feeling like crap, but I did enjoy the dealers' room at Comic Con and I have read some comics. Here's the latest batch of brief reviews.

Blue Beetle 35
This looks to go out with a bang. Jamie as a leader of a scarab army! Or rather, Blue Beetle as the leader. I'm really going to miss this book.

Booster Gold 17
Trying to keep track of the time paradoxes can give me a headache, so I just sit back and enjoy the ride. Booster and Booster sounds like a dream team for next ish.

Nightwing 153
As much as anyone, Peter Tomasi gave Dick Grayson a life that was both independent of Batman and integrated in the Bat family. Since Tomasi took over writing chores, the book, and Dick (literally, with the sky diving), have soared. Now, in this last issue, Tomasi gave us a gift in the form of a nice character study in the wake of Batman's death. The Origins and Omens backup was nice, too, with Dick giving Babs a special gift. I will really miss this book.

Titans 10
Best I can say about this is it didn't suck. It wasn't much good, either. I'm really tired of Jericho.

Green Arrow and Black Canary 17
A bit disjointed. There are hints of possibly an interesting story here, but the execution is rather ordinary. So is the art. This book could be wonderful, but so far, it hasn't come close. At least Judd Winick, for all his faults, wrote some fun byplay and sassy dialogue for Ollie and Dinah.

Vixen: Return of the Lion 5
Aside from the 5 of 6 on the cover, this story reached The End and in a most satisfying fashion. Mari has fully embraced her power and her life and helped save the JLA. The art was stunning, too.

Trinity 35-37
Typical mid-story, with lots of myth telling and partial remembering. Still entertaining.

Wonder Woman 28
One of those annoying Faces of Evil covers. This features Cheetah, but really, it's still about Genocide. I'm really liking what Gail is doing in exploring the meaning of Diana's lasso. Cool stuff.

Batman 685
A Faces of Evil issue featuring Catwoman, so I'm pretending this is a Catwoman book and given the gorgeous cover, what else could it be? I don't read Batman or Detective, but with with Bats gone and the supporting cast being featured, I'll be getting a few. In this, Selina runs her own op, with a little help from a couple of friends.

Secret Six 6
This just keeps getting better and better, Gail Simone at her quirky best. Lawton's betrayal of the group is a sharp reminder that this wasn't a team but an agreement of like-minded individuals that mattered only when they had the same goal. They're people who do bad things, sometimes to each other. Cool stuff, enhanced by the dark coloring and graphic art.

Final Crisis Revelations 5
My favorite of the complementary series to Final Crisis, probably because Rucka is such a good writer. The life and death struggles, the pitting of good against evil, the characterizations -- especially of Renee and Helena -- and the resolution for Spectre made this a standout issue.

Final Crisis 7
I've read a lot of reviews of this. A lot. And I still don't quite get it. Maybe because there were so many weeks/months between issues. If I find the time --HA! -- I'll read this straight through, and maybe then it will feel cogent, but I doubt it. So much is left off panel. And for some bizarre reason, it doesn't matter that I haven't been able to follow the whole storyline, that I seem to have missed details, probably because my knowledge of the whole DCU is lacking in some areas. There was so much to enjoy. The art was great. And the panels were packed with intriguing and fun character bits. All those Supermen! Now to see how everything shakes out across the DCU.

Black Canary Times 3

2009-02-11T15:23:00.009-05:00

I picked up the new JLI Black Canary figure today and couldn't resist doing this shot of my 3 Black Canary figures. The one on the right is still my favorite.

I have a stack of comics ready to review and bigger stacks of comics to read. I'll get to them all, eventually.

End of NYCC

2009-02-08T22:25:00.014-05:00

I think I mentioned that I don't do panels really, anymore, at cons, nor do I get autographs and sketches, as a rule. First, I won't pay for an autograph, and I can afford only so much for sketches, and I hate waiting on lines for that. But I do like to get at least one moment with a favorite artist, if I can. Last year, it was Amanda Conner who nicely posed with one of my little Star Wars Stormtrooper action figures. This year, it was Jamal Igle.

He was very nice. We had a lovely chat about Supergirl. I explained my history with the character, growing up with Kara, boycotting DC for almost a decade after she was killed in Crisis, how happy I was to have her back, how frustrated I was with how she was depicted (the whole Super Slut period) and how I wanted to support the book and yet wanted the book changed to better reflect who she was (a teen girl!), which led to me telling him he saved Supergirl, because it isn't just the writing, but how normal and realistic she looks now. I bought the little booklet he had of his art and when I asked how much for him to do a quick headshot sketch of Kara inside, he said he'd do that gratis. He was super nice to do that, and I'm happy to add this to my collection.

NY Comiccon

2009-02-06T19:15:00.032-05:00

I really prefer this in warmer weather. Last year, it was in April which was so nice. This year, I froze walking over to the Javits Center. The professional hours were earlier this year, from 10 am to 1 pm, and I didn't get there until after 11 am, to discover the computer system was down and I had to wait in a very long line that wasn't moving. After nearly 40 minutes, someone came around with generic Professional passes, so I was able to get in and enjoy relatively empty aisles for about an hour before the con officially opened. I picked up my official weekend pass late in the afternoon. I get the professional registration because I'm a librarian.

I used to do more at cons when I was younger. I used to go to panels. I used to get autographs. Now, I just shop in the dealers' room, mostly buying toys and checking out the previews. In the old days, getting autographs meant asking folks for them. Now, you have to get on line and pay, or buy something. I mostly take pictures, now, like this one of Neal Adams. I did get, for free, an autograph and drawing from David Horvath of Ugly Doll fame. I bought a few things earlier in the day, though, because, well, they're Ugly Dolls!

There weren't many new toys that interested me, and fewer previews than usual. MindStyle wasn't there, and Diamond Select didn't have much upcoming at all. And they didn't have the latest Stargate SG1 series 5 action figures, due out sometime in the future. They're in a box somewhere. They might be set up tomorrow. I did ask and get answers about the frequent delays and such. DC had some nice figures, busts, and statues, but I seem to recall more last year. Tonner had some lovely DCU dolls, though. The GL doll pic is for you, Sally!

New Acquisitions

2009-02-01T14:53:00.007-05:00

From Amazon:

From Forbidden Planet:

Lotsa Reviews

2009-01-28T11:54:00.066-05:00

It's snowing and raining and I didn't have work today, so new comics will have to wait for tomorrow. Meanwhile, here's what I read this past week.

First off, I hated the cover design for the Faces of Evil DC books. The name of the villain superimposed over gray on black book titles made it near impossible for me to see which books I was buying. Definitely not one of DC's better design moves.

Justice League of America 29
Serviceable throwback/flashback to an earlier time to set up Starbreaker for next issue, I guess, by Len Wein. It was okay.

Brave and Bold 21
Green Arrow tries to help out back on Earth, without success, while Hal and the Phantom Stranger continue their off-Earth adventure. The realistic art by Braithwaite and Reinhold add to the creepiness of this story. Enjoyable.

Green Lantern 37
A Faces of Evil and Rage of the Red Lanterns story! The Faces of Evil connection is weak as this storyline has been underway for a few issues now and is part of the setup to Blackest Night. But it moves at a brisk pace and Hal is definitely in for some nasty times.

Action 873
I don't normally read this, but it's part of the New Krypton storyline, so I picked it up. The Faces of Evil villain featured is Luther. A solid installment in the story that's connecting the Superman and Supergirl titles.

Supergirl 37
Featuring the mysterious Superwoman. We get a few small clues about her, but not enough for me to figure anything out. I'm not reading the Superman titles, so if she's connected to them in any way, I won't catch it. She seems a bit older than most super folks and I do love her costume. Better, however, is how relevant this comic has become.

Booster Gold 16
With Enemy Ace. In the past, Booster saves the life of a man who will have an impact on his life years later. This book continues to impress.

Nightwing 152
Dick vs the ever annoying Ra's Al Ghul. Boy, does Ra's have an overinflated ego or what? Dick more than holds his own.

Birds of Prey 126
Calculator makes a good case for him to be considered more than a 2-bit villain. He might be able to best the Birds, but I wouldn't bet on it. This book is going out on top of its game.

Green Arrow and Black Canary 16
A decent story, featuring Merlyn, but the intrigue is the wacky woman who is being set up as a stalker for Ollie. hmmmm.... That could be good, but why do I have my doubts?

Final Crisis 6
I'd had some of this spoiled, but I'd pretty much known that this is when Bats gets offed, but still, a very moving issue.

Angel 16
And now, back to where it began, which is where the TV series ended, but without negating all that happened in the previous 15 issues when Hell won. A lot about sacrifice. This series has turned out to be better than I'd thought from the first confusing issues.

Simon Dark 16
It looks like Simon has a brother. I'm not sure why I like this odd little comic, but I do.

Manhunter 38
The last issue. So, instead of finishing the story started a couple of issues ago, Andreyko jumped years ahead so he could show the direction the characters are headed. Ramsey grown up and a costumed crimefighter has appeal, but now I'm wondering if this is the actual timeline or if any of Kate's future appearances elsewhere will be prior to this last storyline. Ah well, it's been a helluva ride.

Lots of Comics

2009-01-22T00:05:00.000-05:00

Picked up comics from last week and this week. Wow, I've got quite the stackk to read. And I still have some older ones to review, too.

Jack of Fables 29
The war between Revise and Bookburner heats up. ;) I love this comic.

Final Crisis Secret Files
Totally unnecessary but fascinating story of Libra. You don't need to read it to keep up with Final Crisis, but Len Wein wrote a nice story with a narrative style that felt so '70s, I felt transported back in time. Tony Shasteen's art is very nice, too.

Even more of a throwback is Batman 684 by Denny O'Neil, with art by Guillem March. I normally don't read Batman, but I wanted to see what Denny did came up with and it featured Nightwing, so was a natural. A nice, moody piece, but given Dick's recent encounter/entanglement with Two-Face, things felt off, out of continuity with the Nightwing book that's about to end. I had mixed feelings about this.

Superman 683
A chapter in New Krypton, which is the only reason I bought it. Kata's mother has clearly lost her mind, because even grief doesn't account for her cruelty toward her daughter and I can't believe Alura was always such a bitch.

Green Lantern 36
The Red Lanterns storyline moves forward and Sinestro is in the middle of a mess. The art by Reis and Albert is wonderful. This book continues to excel, one of the best reboots I've read.

Titans 9
*yawn* So, Jericho spends most of the issue inside Dick's head retelling his life story. Wow, what a great use of all those pages, not. This couldn't take up half the space and maybe some actual story happen? Oh, and Roy and Vic get zapped by Donna in an attempt to find who Jericho is hiding in, and then the JLA shows up. Considering Roy is in the JLA as well as the Titans, which side will he take if he wakes up in time?

Trinity 33-34
Moving along nicely. Memories of the lost Earth are coming back, Donna gets in touch with her inner Amazon, and the pace of this weekly remains on track. I'm enjoying the storytelling about the lost trinity of gods, but that font is not getting any easier to read.

Stack Maintenance

2009-01-17T21:39:00.000-05:00

Still feel like utter crap. Having a colonoscopy on Monday, during which maybe the doc can figure out what the hell is wrong. The bacteria were killed by all the damn antibiotics I had, I've taken enough probiotics to populate a dozen or so colons, and I'm still unable to eat normally.

So, I've been catching up on my reading, including comics. Got through the WildCats reboot thus far. I like Neil Googe's art, but when I first saw it flipping through this book, I was wary. No one looked right. His art was wonderful on Welcome to Tranquility because those were new characters, but I want Hadrian and Cole and everyone else to look like themselves. Actually, the women look more accurate than the men, but after the third issue, I hardly noticed and was really into it. This is one grim, bleak, dark, depressing world after the world ended place. Definitely not for someone looking for happy endings, but the gang's all here, even if Jeremy looks skinnier than ever. I could probably snap his bones without effort.

I caught up with Madame Xanadu, too. I'm enjoying the hopping forward in time and through various locales in history, and the Phantom Stranger is always a welcome sight, yet his appearances don't diminish Madame X at all, but provides her with a counterpart, someone who offers both wise advice and provides a source of frustration for her. I just wish the book was on better paper.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is next. I don't know how I got so far behind on that, because I was reading it the week I got it, but I guess when it missed on its schedule a bit, I kinda forgot about it.

I also read the Superman/Batman book with the li'l JLA, but hadn't known it was a continued story and now need to find the next issue. Just figures.