Tales from the Long Box

Flash Rebirth #1

2016-06-29T11:55:00.000-04:00

Overview: Barry Allen is at a murder scene that reminds him of his mother's murder. His supervisor Dr. Singh tries to ward him off from the case but Barry won't hear of it. Barry sees a vision of Zoom but it isn't real.

We get the same scene with Barry and Wally from Rebirth #1. Barry then visits Batman and they look at the smiley face button that Batman found after Wally's visit.

The issue ends with two detectives at the crime scene saying that Barry Allen sometimes makes mistakes.

Final Thoughts: I didn't like this issue very much. Firs the art was ugly, very ugly. You see this style in books from time to time and I never like it. I think this is supposed to be a stylized look but it just looks sloppy and rushed to me. It feels like someone remembered they needed a Flash comic for this week and had someone throw together a layout.

Speaking of the layout, this issue had a very lazy one. There was just no creativity to the format of this book. It looks like the artist pulled up some template on his computer and then crapped out this issue.

The story itself also felt pretty lazy. It rehashed a lot of Rebirth #1 and if you were going to do that I think it needed more aftermath. Wally and Barry in Rebirth #1 was a powerful moment and this cheapened it a bit. It further adds to that feeling that this book was thrown together at the last minute.

Out of all the books I've read so far, this one makes me the least excited for the regular series. I love the Flash and I devoured the Wally West series when I first started reading the back issues in 2004. But let's be honest here, the Flash hasn't been in good hands since Infinite Crisis happened. We've been subjected to mediocre to crap for about a decade now and this series doesn't seem to be a reversal of that trend.

This one sadly is a D-.

Action Comics #957

2016-06-28T11:55:00.000-04:00

Overview: Lex Luthor thwarts a crime in a new armor that has the Superman logo on it. As a former member of the Justice League he's claiming that he wants to carry on the legacy of Superman. This of course draws out the real Superman.

This leads to a battle between the two. Clark Kent shows up to the surprise of the Daily Planet staff. The issue ends with Doomsday escaping from captivity and confronting Superman and Lex Luthor.

Final Thoughts: This was an enjoyable enough issue but this is the kind of issue you dread showing to a non-comic book fan. It has that convoluted kind of comic logic that people outside of the bubble just don't get. You have Superman showing up to defend the honor of dead Superman and suddenly Superman's secret identity is there as well.

Let's also talk about Doomsday for a moment here. Doomsday was a cool one shot villain for the Death of Superman back in the 90s. But past that, he really isn't that interesting as a villain. Repeated uses of him kind of diminishes his mystique as a monster that took out Superman. It feels like the current management at DC are just obsessed with Doomsday. I felt like I saw him in more comic books the last 5 years than I did for the previous decade. Like I said, I just don't think he's a particularly interesting baddie and I would have been fine if he never appeared again after the Death of Superman.

Aside from those complaints I did enjoy the issue. I'm still really happy to have the real Superman back even if it's still got elements of the New 52. It's a good sign when I finish reading an issue and want to check out the next one right away. I think Superman is in good hands going forward.

Overall I'd give this issue a B.

Superman: Rebirth #1

2016-06-27T11:55:00.000-04:00

Before we get into this issue I wanted to talk about the state of the Superman franchise. I feel that out of all the characters in the New 52 that Superman suffered the most.

When I was younger I thought Superman was boring but as I became an adult I grew to appreciate his world. As a now 30 something I love how Clark Kent strives to be a normal man with a normal life when he's not Superman. I've also grown to really enjoy his supporting cast of characters.

When the New 52 hit it just wasn't Superman anymore. Instead of the guy that wanted to be a regular guy we got angst ridden guy in anime armor. It just didn't work for me and I stopped reading Action Comics and Superman. So going into this, I've really only read New 52 Superman in the Justice League or outside appearances. So for me, I really have no idea what happened with New 52 Superman. I would check in with recaps here and there and it never sounded good.

So I'm going into this reboot pretty cold. I really liked seeing the Pre-Flashpoint Clark Kent pop up. That actually got me to give the Superman books a try.

Overview: The Pre-Flashpoint Clark Kent encounters Lana Lang. Clark believes the New 52 Clark will rise from the dead. He tells Lana the story of his battle with Doomsday and how he died and came back. Lana helps Clark find the Fortress of Solitude so he can use a Regeneration Matrix to bring his counterpart back to life.

There isn't on in this universe and Clark accepts that his counterpart won't be coming back. Clark helps Lana bury the New 52 Clark and builds a statue to honor him in the Fortress of Solitude.

Final Thoughts: That plot doesn't sound like much written out but it does play out better on paper.

You know what. This was a really strong first issue. It felt right, it felt like Superman. It really makes me happy to have the old Clark Kent back and this book feels like a promising start to a new series. I will eagerly be checking out the next issues of Action Comics and Superman.

The art was really strong in this issue and I thought it was well written. I like how they did a far callback to the Doomsday battle and used that to justify Clark's motivations. I am a little unsure about Clark just sitting on the sidelines in this new universe for so long without stepping in and battling someone like Darkseid.

This issue was really good closure to the New 52 era of Superman. They said goodbye to that character in a respectable manner. But I also think a lot of people are ready to have the real Superman back for good.

I've been pleasantly surprised by what I've read from the DC Rebirth books so far. I've liked 4 of the titles I've read out of 5. That's a good ratio so far. I'm optimistic that Didio and company have finally learned some lessons and changed accordingly.

I give this a solid B+.

Detective Comics #934

2016-06-26T11:55:00.000-04:00

Overview: The issue starts off with it appearing that Azrael is being beaten up by Batman. The real Batman arrives on the scene and discovers a drone.

The scene shifts to Batwoman who gets approached by Batman. He wants her to train the new vigilantes in Gotham. They go out and recruit Red Robin, Spoiler, Orphan and Clayface to form a sort of team. The issue ends with a mysterious figure giving a speech to an army of men dressed up as Batman.

Final Thoughts: Now this is more like it. I have been dying to have Tim, Cass and Steph back into the fold in a meaningful way. This issue really got me excited to see the direction of the Rebirth era Batman titles.

The idea of Batman using Clayface for good is an interesting idea. I'm curious to see how they'll work him into the Bat-Family and if it ends up being a long term move or something that's just going to lead to some twist ending.

As a long time reader of the Batman titles I'm happy to see the Family getting restored. I'm really hoping this means a return of the Tim Drake that we all know and love. I felt like Tim was one of the biggest losses in the New 52 changes. He became one of my favorite DC characters during the 2000s and I think he adds a much needed balance to the Bat-Family.

I was really critical of the Batman Rebirth issue but this was a much better effort. I really think this is what that issue should have been. Good introduction to the direction and the characters that will be in the books going forward. It also gave a quick but good insight to the personalities and workings of the various characters.

I'd give this a B for a good first effort.

Saturday Morning Batman: Detective Comics #37

2016-06-25T09:00:00.000-04:00

Wow, you don't read one of these Golden Age Batman's for awhile and suddenly the poor writing is hard to follow.

Overview: The essentials of this plot is that Batman saves a boat from being destroyed by a foreign agent. That's really all there is to that story. Batman saves a man from some mobsters who ends up turning on him because he's a sort of double agent. Then Batman foils a plot and the head Mobster Turg ends up being a Count.

Final Thoughts: This was not a good issue. Sometimes you get a story that you can follow and draw entertainment out of even bad writing. This issue was not that. This was just a rough read. The story didn't spend more than a few panels on any particular scene and the setup was just kind of silly.

I'm looking forward to the next issue as that introduces Robin into the series and then we can get into the regular Batman title.

Overall I give this book an F.

Green Lanterns: Rebirth #1

2016-06-23T11:55:00.000-04:00

Before we get into this review. I just want to be honest about Green Lanterns. Out of the titles on my pull list right now this one has the least leeway. Simon Baz has never really done anything for me and I'm not sold on Jessica Cruz. But, it is a Green Lantern title so I'm going to give it a fair shot to win me over.

So let's get into this review. So far I loved the DC Universe Rebirth issue and was pretty lukewarm about the Batman Rebirth issue.

Overview: There's not much in the way of action in this issue. We see a Guardian with a mysterious box trying to escape the Dominators in the early part of the issue. Then we get an introduction to the backstory of Simon Baz and a lesser introduction for Jessica Cruz.

They get called to action and face off with a Manhunter. This turns out to be a simulation that they failed. Hal Jordan appears and lectures them on the importance of teamwork and fuses their batteries together to try and force the issue. He also introduces them to the Justice League before heading off to deal with Sinestro. We end the issue with Atrocitus making an appearace.

Final Thoughts: I was really skeptical going into this issue. Simon Baz is just one of those characters that has never grabbed me. I know I've read books with him as a character but nothing has ever stood out to me as far as moments or anything that really defines the character.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. Unlike Batman this provided a really good introduction to what this series is going to be in the future. I really like the idea of Baz and Cruz having to work together and not really wanting to. I also thought they made Baz and Cruz very interesting as characters I am not familiar with.

This book also felt a little more lighthearted than a lot of the New 52 titles over the last 5 years. It wasn't a comedy but things didn't feel so grim and gritty.

I also liked seeing the Dominators pop up. It feels like a really long time since I've seen them outside of the Legion of Superheroes. That was really refreshing to see. On the other side of that I wasn't happy to see Atrocitus at the end of the issue. I've really grown tired of the whole Emotional Spectrum and other Lantern Crops that have dominated the GL titles for the last decade. I've been ready to move on and I think I'm just going to have to be patient for the time being.

Overall I'm excited to read this book going forward. I think the premise is solid and they have two interesting characters to carry it. I think this book might actually have some chance for success if the writing is good going forward. I was really surprised that I enjoyed this.

I'd give this book a solid B. Quality start to this series.

Batman: Rebirth #1

2016-06-22T11:55:00.000-04:00

So let's dig into the series I was looking forward to the most with Rebirth... Batman. I lost interest in Snyder's run after about 30 issues. I really liked the first two arcs but then I felt like Snyder got really long winded with his storylines. I also didn't like that Snyder was trying to cram the Batman family with even more characters while DC was actively ignoring members that already existed like Stephanie Brown or Cassandra Cain.

Overview: Batman brings on Duke and is training him for a role in the Bat-Family. We also get some villainous fun as the Calendar Man was trying to release some spores to destroy Gotham.

I really want to write more about this comic but there really wasn't very much to it. It's kind of a very base overview of I guess what's going on. We see Batman bring Duke in and we get a scene where Lucius Fox restores Bruce's fortune and we're out.

Final Thoughts: There's actually a lot to say about this issue and very little of it is good.

First, the scene with Bruce and Lucius was just dumb. Bruce was doing one armed pull ups on a helicopter landing pad at the top of a skyscraper. Now, if you've seen 5 seconds of a Batman cartoon you can see why this is dumb. The point of Bruce Wayne is he is nothing like Batman. He's supposed to come across as a carefree playboy. Doing something that extreme is a good way to out himself as a potential ID for Batman or to slip and fall to his death. It really just rubbed me the wrong way and came across like the new writer Tom King doesn't get the character he's writing.

Then we get to the Calendar Man. They turned the Calendar Man into this weird guy that dies in the winter and is reborn in the spring instead of just a guy that bases his crimes on the time of the year. This change is a perfect example of what DC has been doing for the last several years with their properties. You take a character that's perfectly acceptable in their current form and then change them just because you feel like you have to tinker with something. I was really excited to see the Calendar Man and then was immediately bummed out when I saw what they did to him.

This was a real letdown after DC Rebirth #1. This felt like the same soulless writing that DC has bee subjecting me to for the last several years. Also, this was a terrible introduction for someone that wasn't up on more current Bat-book events. It felt like I was missing something plot wise the entire time and that the book assumed I had a base level of knowledge about the last few years.

I was really excited to read more after DC Rebirth #1 and after this issue I'm back to being uneasy about spending any money on the new DCU. This was just very mediocre like a lot of DC books have been since the New 52 started. I'm really hoping Batman #1 is an overall better read than this was.

Overall I give this a C for a mediocre book and a complete failure as an introduction to the Rebirth Batman.

Going Forward

2016-06-21T11:55:00.000-04:00

A couple of notes because I used this blog for a short time back in 2010-2011 and moved on. I'm interested in kind of chronicling my journey through this new DCU. That could mean any number of things since I don't really know what I'm getting myself into. I might really enjoy some of the books and read them for a long time or we might be 3 months in the future and I've dropped all but a handful of books. It's really hard to say right now. I will try to write about everything that I'm reading even if that means mini reviews for some books.

I do plan to pick up where I left off on the Saturday Morning Batman reviews. Those are mostly quick and easy and I like seeing the beginnings of Batman. I might add some older comic reviews as time moves on as well. So stay tuned.

Pull List 6/20/2016

2016-06-20T11:55:00.000-04:00

This isn't the entirety of my comic book reading every month. This is merely what my DC Pull List will look like through the month of August. Some of these books are going to be on shorter leashes than other books will be. I obviously have a backlog because I jumped on a little late but I will post reviews to books as I read them. So here are the books I will be pulling for DC Rebirth:

Action Comics
Batgirl and the Birds of Prey
Batman
Detective Comics
Green Lanterns
Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corp.
Justice League
Nightwing
Superman
Teen Titans
The Flash
Titans

Most of these books are going to be double shipped to start with so hopefully I can keep up with that many to start with. So stay tuned.

DC Universe Rebirth #1

2016-06-19T15:55:00.002-04:00

If you're a fan of DC Comics it's been a tough ride since the New 52 started in 2011. I gave the new universe a try and slowly lost interest as the quality just wasn't there. Sales seem to back up my opinion on that front.

A little less than 5 years later and DC has kind of raised the white flag on the New 52 and decided they need to bring elements back from the original DC universe.

I wasn't going to give them the time of day. I tried the new Marvel stuff and nothing really stuck with me. The books weren't bad but Marvel has changed so many characters at this point that it's alienating if you've followed their titles for any length of time. But this isn't about Marvel.

Being the degenerate comic book addict that I am, I started kind of peaking at the new lineup of DC titles. I have to admit that while I'm not expecting an amazing turn around to their output of books they did do just enough to make me curious.

So my goal is to blog about my experiences with the DC Rebirth. I've plotted out the books that I'm going to get at the start. Nothing out of the ordinary for me. I will spend a future post discussing what I plan to pull. So let's get into the DC Universe Rebirth #1.

Overview: This story essentially boils down to the return of the real Wally West as Kid Flash. He reveals that the DC Universe was changed and attacked by someone at the end of Flashpoint. The main plot is Wally visiting a number of characters in the DCU and trying to get them to pull him out of the Speedforce. The book also introduces some elements returning to the DCU. The JSA are mentioned, the Legion appear and Ray Palmer and Ryan Choi make an appearance.

This book also makes a big introduction to the DCU as the Watchmen are now a part of the DCU proper. Yes, go ahead and groan with me right now.

The big climax of the book is Wally appearing to Barry Allen right before he is about to die. In a rarely powerful moment Wally pours his heart out to Barry and Barry remembers at the last moment and pulls Wally from the Speedforce. After years of soulless writing, they finally had a scene that had some emotional punch to it. It actually took me by surprise that DC was still capable of making you feel anything while reading one of their books. It actually kind of gives me hope for the future of this Rebirth idea.

Final Thoughts: Let's start with the good on this comic. This is probably the best single issue of a comic book I've read from DC since the Justice League Dark had a brief teamup with the Flash and Swamp Thing a couple of years ago. It feels like they finally got why people didn't like the New 52 and while not doing away with it completely changed some serious problems with it.

It feels like there's some actual diversity in their heroes again. Everyone in this book didn't feel like an angst ridden teenager or 20something that wasn't married. We're hopefully regaining heroes from every age bracket and from different walks of life. This made the DCU feel big again.

Coming out of this issue I would say my interest in the Rebirth titles has grown. I originally had a list of about 4 books I was going to get and I decided to grow that to about 12. That might not last for long but that's the most DC I've had on my list since probably somewhere in 2009.

I do have some real issues with the Watchmen coming into the regular DCU though. That strikes me that they learned nothing from Wildstorm's failure to integrate. The characters just don't fit in that universe and it's going to be painfully obvious. I also think the Watchmen characters lose their impact as ongoing DCU characters. I'm hoping that they're easy to avoid or minimally used.

I also looked through the new books and it still looks like Tim Drake is getting the shaft in these new books. That really disappoints me because he's probably my favorite DC character. But I guess we have to take small steps here.

I would probably give this book an A- as far as quality goes. Really solid story that sets the foundation for what they're going to be doing with the new titles. Hopefully DC can deliver on it.

Saturday Morning Batman: Detective Comics #36

2011-04-16T08:53:00.000-04:00

Cover Date: February 1940

Plot Overview: Batman sees a man shot and when questioned mentions something about a strange fog. The police arrive and chase Batman thinking that he killed the man. Later, Bruce Wayne ponders what he heard earlier and realizes the man meant Hugo Strange. He also finds a list of Banks in a book he took off of the man.

The scene shifts to Hugo Strange as he begins his plan. The city becomes covered in a thick fog and Strange's men use it as cover to commit a series of bank robberies. Batman uses the black book and ambushes them at one of the banks. He easily subdues the men and leaves them for the police.

Strange realizes that Batman must know where he'll strike next so he plans a trap. Batman arrives at the next place and Strange has left a whole gang of men to take him out. Batman valiantly fights the men off until one catches him with a black jack. They take him to Strange and they tie Batman up. Batman easily breaks his bonds and uses a tear gas on Strange and his men. Batman chases Strange down and after a brief fight he captures Strange and leaves him for the police.

My Take: This is of course the first appearance for Hugo Strange. He comes and goes in the Batman lore but he does have the honor of being the first recurring Batman villain. This issue is also interesting because Batman has stopped using lethal force. A few issues ago and the amount of brutality to these fights would've been much greater. It seems with the new character model that they've lightened Batman up just a little bit.

I enjoyed this issue quite a bit. The writing was a lot better than usual and the grammar didn't seem to be as clunky as it usually is. The story was pretty simple and to the point and I think that is why it was so readable. They didn't try to get clever with it and they didn't use situations that were going to be hard to show with the art or the writing. Simple seems to equal better at this point. I would say this is the first of the golden age stories that I really enjoyed on it's own merits.

The art was pretty solid. The new Batman is a nice change of pace and the characters in general aren't as ugly as they were. The action sequences were also very good looking and I could actually tell what was going on.

I'd give this a solid C.

Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #8

2011-04-09T15:41:00.000-04:00

Guy, Arisia and Killowag are heading for OA when Parallax restores the impurity to the rings. Arisia freaks out and heads towards OA. Suddenly a legion of GLC attack Guy and Killowag. Killowag helps Guy escape and then lets himself get captured. Guy reaches out for other GLC members and the only person to respond is Hal Jordan.

They meet up on a distant planet and brief each other on what they've been doing. Tensions run high and they start to fight. Hal and Guy reveal their true feelings for each other and fight until they realize it's Parallax causing the issue. They manage to take off their rings and Guy is a little shaken up as he realizes their bad blood runs deeper than he thought. The issue ends with them wondering how they're going to defeat Krona and the entire GLC.

My Take: So... we're in part 3 of the story and they've essentially done the same issue three times so far. GLC members freak out, survivors figure it out, then fight, then take off rings. I know the book is crossing over three series but you can really just move the story on. So far, they've done 3 parts, the story hasn't moved at all and they've spent a huge amount of time, rehashing what they've been building for the last year in the titles.

I know you don't want readers to be lost but sometimes you just have to push forward and let the reader be a little lost. This crossover is just bogged down right now and it makes me wonder how many parts this storyline is going to have. I'm starting to think there will be double digit issues with the pace so far.

I'm glad to see that Hal Jordan was effected by Parallax. I was really worried that this was going to be a "Hal Jordan is so kewl." storyline and I'm glad to be wrong. Right now, it's the 4 Earth GLs sans rings against the whole GLC. Wow, no pressure there guys. I wonder how they'll pull this one off.

I'm just tired of Green Lantern events at this point. I feel like I'm just going through the motions with these issues and I'm absolutely dreading what Flashpoint is going to do to the books I actually read. I really just need a break from event books at this point.

I'd give this a B-.

Saturday Morning Batman: Detective Comics #35

2011-04-09T14:59:00.000-04:00

Cover Date: January 1940

Plot Overview: A man comes to see Commissioner Gordon. He received a ruby idol and has been receiving threats. One thing leads to another and a car cash later and a bunch of Hindus bump a body in the river. Bruce Wayne becomes Batman and follow the Hindus to a man named Sin Fang after they steal the idol.

Fang puts Batman through a series of death traps but he thwarts them all. Batman catches Sin Fang unmasking to reveal the man who they had thought killed earlier. The man pulls a gun but Batman hits him with the idol and the man falls out of the window to his death.

My Take: A couple of notes here. The artist style of Batman changed in this issue. He now looks a lot more like the classic Golden Age Batman that people know him by. He has blue in the costume and has the more classic cape.

This story was okay. There were a lot of grammatical errors and that was distracting. The story was pretty straightforward and simple. It was a very cliched story and I felt like I had read similar stories 5 or 6 times throughout my life. I would say compared to the other stories so far that this was one of the stronger ones. It still had a lot of the writing flaws but the story was interesting enough this time to overcome those flaws.

As far as the art. The book has really lost the mood that it had in the early issues. That creepy vibe has just faded from the book. The people in the stories are starting to look better and various other items as well. Batman is more stylized now and I think he looks better overall. It's a weird combination. It's more stylized but it's lost some of the crude charm that it had. It will be interesting to see what direction the art takes over the next couple of issues.

I'd give this a D+.

Green Lantern Corps. #58

2011-04-02T08:57:00.000-04:00

Several of the Green Lanterns return from Qward just as Parallax restores the impurity to their rings. Most of the Lanterns head off but Kyle, John and Ganthet aren't as effected. Kyle and John begin to duke it out and Ganthet realizes what's happening. He uses his ring to remove the rings of Kyle and John. Ganthet uses so much willpower to do it that his ring explodes and takes his hand with it.

John helps to bandage his wound as Ganthet explains that they all survived because they had been infected by Parallax. He says that Hal, Killowag and Guy are the only other Lanterns that won't be as effected by the situation. They realize a search party is out looking for them so Ganthet sends them off. He tells Kyle that it was no accident that he received the ring and that he may be their best hope now. Ganthet tells them to do what they must and that so will he as the issue comes to a close.

My Take: Right off the bat here, why are John, Kyle and Ganthet struggling with Parallax when Hal Jordan didn't even struggle for a second with it. This still reeks of a wankfest over Hal Jordan being the greatest ever or whatever nonsense they seem to be pushing with it. I really don't want to sit through a crossover if it's going to be all about making Hal Jordan seem awesome.

With that aside, this was better than part 1. This has me looking forward to reading part 2 while part 1 was pretty forgettable. I still don't really like the mind control angle and I don't see how 6 guys are going to pull this off. I really feel like I'm just going through the motions on this issue. I was loving Green Lantern Corps. and this issue kind of derailed the momentum the series had built with the last 20 issues of so. I felt like this title was A+ issue after A+ issue and this is more like a B- for me. I'm really just not taking to this War of the Green Lanterns thing after 2 parts.

I think DC is playing a dangerous game here. Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps. were running on all cylinders. Then they introduces a third book and now they're doing yet another crossover. If they aren't careful, they're going to burn out the Green Lantern idea really quick. I mean, this is a concept that they've never really gotten to work. They finally pulled it off a few years ago and now they can't run it into the ground quick enough. I guess that's the modern comic book industry for you.

The art was great as always for this book though. Really strong issue from an art stand point. I wish the story could've been as good as the art here.

As mentioned earlier. B- for an improved part 2 that still isn't wowing me.

Walking Dead #83

2011-04-02T08:26:00.001-04:00

Rick plans on getting out the town and goes back to how he and Glenn once escaped the zombies. By covering themselves in zombie guts they can walk among the zombies unnoticed. Meanwhile Michonne to the dying Morgan about how she really feels. It's not shown, but I assume Morgan goes zombie on her because she kills him as Rick starts to tear a zombie apart downstairs. Maggie decides to stay with Sophia so it will just be Rick, Carl, Michonne, Denise, Jessie and Ron walking among the zombies.

They depart and Ron urinates himself out of fright. This seems to attract the zombies and he gets bitten. Jessie tries to save her son and that leads to the zombies biting and eating her too. Douglas, at this moment is trying to commit suicide and sees the events taking place. He begins to shot at the zombies and yells for Rick to find safety. Jessie won't let go of Carl as the zombies continue to eat her so Rick cuts her hand off with an ax.

Douglas continues to fire away until a zombie bites him and he begins to fire wildly. Rick turns to see that half of Carl's face has been blown off by a bullet. Rick grabs up Carl and tells him to keep breathing. Carl gets to Denise at the hospital and tells her to save him as the issue comes to a close.

My Take: Interesting issue here. I don't know what I think of Carl dying. The number 1 rule of this series is that only Rick is safe in any given situation because the series is about him. If he dies, that's the last issue. Carl has been fair game from day 1, I think everyone has just gotten comfortable with his safety in any given situation over the years. I think it's especially jarring because the last issue was mostly about developing Carl as a character and helping to resolve the inner turmoil he had been feeling about some of the choices he's made during the long road of survival.

This issue also follows another main rule of the series. If the characters let themselves become a little too comfortable and a little too complacent, it's going to blow up in their faces in a really bad way. Take Rick during this town story arc. He was starting to reclaim a life. He had a love interest, he had a home and he had a job. He was allowed to be Rick Grimes, human being again. He and all of the survivors essentially put themselves into a death trap and how here they are. Scattered in various buildings and most will probably die trying to escape.

Back to Carl though. I'm not sure how the series progresses from here. If you go back through to even issue 1, Carl is what has kept Rick going. Rick has always survived for Lori and Carl. When Lori died, all he had was Carl. So what keeps Rick moving now? Does he just keep going because that's what he always does? Does Denise somehow save Carl and now he's deformed? Interesting possibilities for the future.

Really strong issue for me. Since the zombies showed up, I've been dying to get the next issue every month. As always, the book doesn't disappoint when things go horribly wrong.

I'd give this issue an A+.

Saturday Morning Batman: Detective Comics #34

2011-04-02T07:44:00.000-04:00

Cover Date: December 1939

Plot Overview: Bruce Wayne encounters a man with no face and then a woman that is scared for her life. After things settle down, they explain that this man is trying to get money from them and even burned off the man's face. Bruce tells them he can't help and then later visits them as Batman.

Batman drops in on the man but is captured. They place him on this giant wheel to hopefully kill him or drive him mad. Batman escapes the wheel and ends up in this garden where the plants all have faces. Meanwhile the woman and the faceless man are captured. The faceless man is placed on the wheel and cries out for help until Batman saves the day.

The villain escapes but Batman chases him down in his Bat-plane. Batman and the villain struggle until Batman causes him to crash. Batman saves the girl as the bad guy crashes to his death.

My Take: This was a rough one to get through. It was really poorly written and the concepts were pretty ridiculous. It's really a shame too, I had hopes for some improved writing after the last issue seemed to read more coherently than previous issues had. This was a major step backwards. The writing seemed worse here than in any of the other issues.

Storywise, I didn't care for this. The faceless man was dumb and not believable. They burned his facial features off. Okay... it looked like someone took an eraser to your face. The plants with human faces were also never explained. It was just this weird little aside to the whole storyline.

Speaking of that part. Batman is in that weird garden and the bad guy has the girl and faceless guy captured. How freaking long was he sitting there getting creeped out by a bunch of plants. Seems it might take awhile to track down and capture your enemies. Batman seemed like he was loafing a bit in this issue. He could've wrapped things up quick but NOOOOOOOOO... he has to hot dog it and almost get the innocents killed. The recklessness of youth I guess.

This is a straight F.

Green Lantern #64

2011-03-30T20:03:00.000-04:00

The various Lanterns react to the revelation that Krona is the man that had the Manhunters go rogue. Hal and Atrocitus argue when Larfleeze's lantern pops out of the Book of the Dead. Larfleez goes for it and gets pulled into the book. Lyssa Drak appears and has the book chain them up.

Meanwhile Krona arrives on OA and drops in on the Guardians. Krona has the entities possess the Guardians. Back at the Book of the Dead. Sinestro and Hal use their rings to create a big explosion and Hal is left looking at all of the rings of the other Lanterns. Salaak and a group of GLC members arrive at that moment.

Salaak tells Hal that he's under arrest. Hal wants a moment to explain and the other Lanterns want to hear him out. Just then, Parallax flies into the Central Power Battery. As a result, all of the Green Lanterns go crazy. Hal appears to be the only one not effected by this turn of events and escapes into space. The issue ends with Krona planning to unleash the GLC on the universe like he did the Manhunters.

My Take: Are we really going the mind control route here. Didn't we just have this with Final Crisis? I don't know what it was with this issue. I just didn't like the sudden direction the book took. It seems like the odds are really stacked against Hal so how are we going to get out of this hopeless situation?

I don't really understand Krona's motivations here either. Revenge on the Guardians to destroying the universe with Green Lanterns seemed like kind of a big leap there. Likewise, Parallax going into the power battery doesn't add up all the way. Why does that give Krona control of them? Wouldn't it just bring back their weakness to yellow?

I really hope this doesn't turn into some "Hal Jordan is such a bad-ass storyline." It has the workings of Hal beating all of the other Green Lanterns and I really don't want to sit through that. We'll just have to see where this goes. I for one am a little worried with the direction that the first issue took. This could turn out to be a colossal disaster.

I think the event fatigue, for me, really hurt this issue. I know that I'm in for some big multi-part storyline and I think I'm just worn out on it. I really think I needed another year for me to be more accepting of this. I feel like Blackest Night ended and things for the War just started ramping up.

I'll give this a C overall.

Green Lantern #63

2011-03-28T18:53:00.000-04:00

The Guardians are meeting with Salaak. They want him to form a band of Green Lanterns and hunt down Hal Jordan. They believe that he has gone rogue and needs to be captured. Salaak seems very hesitant to follow the order but goes along with it.

Meanwhile, Hal Jordan and the other Lanterns are having a strategy session on how to bring in Krona. Krona attacks and the Lanterns scramble until Sinestro arrives on the scene and reveals that it was just an image and no real threat to the Lanterns. They teleport down to a planet and find the Book of Black. It contains the missing chapters of the Book of OA.

The book opens and they're taken back to Krona avoiding the Manhunters. The scene then shifts and it's realized that Krona turned the Manhunters rogue to show the other Guardians that no emotions is a flawed way to police the universe. It's also shown that Krona discovered the green light that would become the Green Lanterns' power. The issue ends with the book saying there can be only three and an image of Kyle, Hal and John diving for rings.

My Take: I was really surprised when the end of the issue popped up. It didn't feel like there was very much to this issue at all. I enjoyed what there was but I think I read this issue in maybe 5 minutes tops. I really hate shelling out $2.99 for a book that's a five minutes read.

This issue seemed like mostly filler to me. It felt like they needed another issue before they kicked off the War crossover so they strung out about 8 pages of content into a full length comic. Like I said, I enjoyed what was there, there just wasn't a lot of it. I am a little frustrated though. It felt like the Guardians learned their lesson a little after Blackest Night and it seems like they're back to being ridiculous and counterproductive to the cause again. Maybe the Green Lanterns would be better off with no Guardians around at this rate.

The art was good as always. I think Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps are two of the best drawn books in the DCU right now.

That's it for the stuff leading up the War of the Green Lanterns. I'll be back with Green Lantern #64 to kick off the War in a day or two.

I'll give this a B- overall.

Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #7

2011-03-27T22:01:00.000-04:00

Zardor subdues Sodom Yat as the issue opens. He reveals that Krona has been influencing Yat since he removed the Ion entity from him. Zardor plans to override Krona's influence and use Sodom Yat as his own weapon. The mind control snakes swallow Guy and Bleeze and start to take hold. Guy in desperation smashes his snake into the one that has Bleeze and kisses her to bring out the red rage. They escape the snakes and Guy dukes it out with Zardor while Bleeze tries to help the telepaths escape. Zardor gains the advantage by using his flame sword. Killowag and Arisia arrive on the scene to join the battle.

Sodom Yat briefly regains control and tells Killowag to kill him. He hesitates and Yat attacks. Zardor collects Bleeze, Yat and his telepaths and starts to make his escape. Guy follows and enables lethal force for himself. He goes for a shot at Yat but Arisia knocks his shot off the mark. Zardor and company make their escape as Guy argues with Killowag and Arisia. Arisia still plans to try and save Yat. Guy thanks them for coming to the rescue as the issue comes to an end.

My Take: I really dislike Zardor as a character. He seems needlessly overpowered and I don't know. He's just bugged me since he showed up around issue 2 or so. This whole War of the Green Lanterns is kind of a bummer because he's going to play a big part in it.

My complaints with Zardor aside, this was a pretty solid issue. It's put a lot of the pieces into place for the War to begin. We now know that Yat is the one that has been stealing power from the other Green Lanterns. We know that Zardor wants a GLC of his own. It's a nice lead in to the actual War. I am intrigued by what all three titles have done leading into this event. I wish it wasn't so close on the heels of Blackest Night but that's the way the comics world is.

This issue finally had the action that had been building up for the last couple of issues. Guy and Zardor duking it out was pretty cool. It was one of the better fights I've seen in a comic lately. I didn't care for the end with the flame sword and Aleesun. The first part of the issue was a little slow but that was putting the puzzle together with you.

The art was really good. The art has been one of the strongest aspects of this series. Really, the art has been really good for all three of the titles.

I'm hoping Killowag is the one to take Zardor out in the end. He deserves it for seeing all of his recruits get killed in the previous issue. Yat is pretty expendable to me. I've never really cared for him since the GLC series started. Kill him, save him, whatever. I'm also hoping that this is the last Green Lantern event for awhile. I'm a little burnt out on GL events. I think a few years of letting the individual series breathe would be a good idea. I doubt I'll be that lucky though.

I'd give this issue a solid B.

Saturday Morning Batman: Detective Comics #33

2011-03-26T08:27:00.000-04:00

Cover Date: November 1939

Plot Overview: This issue opens with the telling of Batman's origin. You've probably seen this reprinted before so I'll gloss over it. The real story begins as the town is attacked by a group calling itself the Red Horde. Bruce is on the scene and helps a few of his fellow citizens out.

Later Wayne reads that Professor Carl Kruger has been released from a mental institution. Wayne theorizes that Kruger might be behind the attack. Dr. Kruger has a Napoleon complex which of course means he's dressing himself up like Napoleon and planning to conquer the world.

Batman unsuccessfully confronts Kruger and barely escapes with his life. Batman then decides to focus on the minions of Kruger. One unwittingly leads Batman to their base. Batman tries to destroy the death rays but Kruger shoots him in the back. Kruger appears to kill Batman with a death ray but it's quickly revealed that Batman switched places with one of the guards.

An aerial battle follows and Batman manages to cause Kruger to crash into the bay killing him.

My Take: This issue was really up and down. For the first half, I was really impressed as it seemed the writing had really improved with this issue. Then it all fell apart. The part where Batman switched places with the guard made no sense. It, literally, was impossible due to how the book presented it. That really took me out of the issue and it made the good points of this issue a little harder to stick with.

But, the writing was a little better in this issue. It flowed as a story better than previous issues have. I didn't feel like I was forcing myself to push through the book. I am kind of curious to see how Superman reads from this time period now. I wonder if the writing is as bad as it can be in Batman. I'm guessing that it probably is.

I was so-so on the art this time. It didn't seem to set the mood that previous issues have. It felt kind of generic and rushed. There was also a point where Batman got hit in the head with a gun and you really couldn't tell from the art that it happened.

Overall, I'd give this issue a D for some up and down writing and for some less than stellar artwork.

Saturday Morning Batman: Detective Comics #32

2010-11-20T06:45:00.000-05:00

Cover Date: October 1939

Plot Overview: Batman approaches a carriage that he thinks is carrying the Monk but instead finds a woman named Dala. Dala ends up being a vampire and bites Julie Madison, fiancee to Bruce Wayne. Batman confronts her and she begs for her life. She pleads fear of the Monk and Batman vows to take care of him.

The Monk captures them and hypnotizes Batman. He also summons Julie to his castle. With Julie present, the Monk reveals that he is going to toss Batman into a pit of werewolves. Batman misses a chance to escape but uses his gas pellet to knock out the wolves. Batman finally escapes using the Batarang. Batman finds a silver statue and melts it into a silver bullet. He finds the Monk and Dala and shoots both with the bullet. Julie is freed from the Monk's power as a result.

My Take: There wasn't a lot to the conclusion of the Monk storyline. My main issue with this part is that the writer's seemed to confuse vampire's and werewolves repeatedly in the story. It wasn't a deal breaker or anything but it was annoying enough to take me out of the story.

I felt the art was pretty strong in this issue and they seem to have improved that a lot over the last several issues. The writing was better overall in this issue too. They went for a little more visual storytelling and that helped overall as it cut down on the clunky writing. There were still a few random things happening though. It really just feels unrefined and really shows why comics were considered kids fare at the time.

I strangely don't have the nostalgia for the second half of the Monk storyline like I do for the first half. That's going to effect the grading of this one so...

I give this a D+ overall.

Saturday Morning Batman: Detective Comics #31

2010-11-13T12:26:00.000-05:00

Cover Date: September 1939

Plot Overview: While Batman is doing his nightly patrols he comes across Julie Madison, fiancee to Bruce Wayne, as she is about to kill some random man. Batman saves the man and then snaps Julie out of her trance. He takes her home and tells her to tell her fiance Bruce Wayne what has happened. Bruce Wayne takes her to a doctor and he recommends a boat voyage to Hungary. Bruce realizes that the man himself is in a trance but plays along anyway.

Bruce sees Julie off and then becomes Batman. Batman reveals his new Baterang and the Batgyro. He flies the Batgyro to the ship and has Julie explain her plight to them. Just then, the Monk appears and tries to hypnotize Batman. Batman breaks away and uses the Baterang and then makes his escape.

Batman follows them and then searches Paris for Julie. He finds her only to be attacked by a gorilla. Batman escapes only to fall into a net left by the Monk. The Monk tries to lower the trapped Batman into a pit of snakes but Batman makes his escape. Batman chases the Monk but is captured in a cage. The Monk reveals that he is going to feed Julie to werevolves. Just then a rope lowers the gorilla down to finish him off. Batman evades the gorilla and climbs up the rope to safety.

Batman finds Julie and takes her away on the Batgyro. He vows vengeance as the issue comes to a close. Be here next week for the exciting conclusion to this story.

My Take: This story has a very special place in my heart. Around the time the first Michael Keaton movie came out my parents bought me a copy of the first volume of the Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told. I was a huge fan of the Superfriends and the Adam West Batman series at the time and this was my first chance to read Batman comics. This story with the Monk was actually the first Batman comic I had ever read. I carry a lot of nostalgia for this story.

As far as the writing and the art. I find the art to be really good in this story. It's moody and it's creepy and that's just the thing you want for the story that's being told. I also found the art on the regular people to be better than in previous issues. They had been really hit and miss on the art up until the last issue. The writing is again really clunky and the story doesn't exactly make sense if you take it word for word. Batman immediately running after the Monk hypnotized him was a little silly. It wasn't really explained well and you kind of wonder at face value why he just ran off. He could've at least grabbed Julie and ran.

I did enjoy the fact that his felt more like a Batman story than a rip off of some episode of the Shadow. Though there was an episode of the Shadow that used a gorilla in a similar manner as this issue did. But I don't know which came first on that front.

I'd give this a solid C- due to my personal nostalgia for it and the fact that the story isn't too awful.

Saturday Morning Batman: Detective Comics #30

2010-11-06T00:02:00.000-04:00

Cover Date: August 1939

Plot Overview: Bruce Wayne opens a newspaper and learns that a man has died under mysterious circumstances. He determines that only Dr. Death could be behind this. Bruce visits the widow of the deceased man and learns that Death was holding them up for ransom. She says that they only have jewels. Bruce heads off and returns to the scene as Batman and lies in wait.

The scene shifts to a bandaged up Dr. Death and his new minion Mikhail. Death sends Mikhail to steal the diamonds from the widow. The widow stumbles upon Mikhail during the robbery but Batman attacks him and saves the day. Batman gives the knocked out Mikhail the diamonds so that he can follow him to Dr. Death.

Batman follows Mikhail to a pawn broker and then to an apartment. Batman knocks Mikhail out with gas and then searches the place but can find no trace of Dr. Death. Mikhail breaks up and Batman proceeds to break his neck in the fight. Batman confronts the pawn broker and unmasks him to reveal Dr. Death. Batman leaves him for the police as the issue ends.

My Take: The art seemed better in this issue for whatever reason. I enjoyed the mood of the night as Batman traveled about. I also enjoyed the story more than the last time. Don't get me wrong though. The writing is still choppy and brutal. I just found it to be amusing despite the obvious flaws in it.

Again, the biggest thing to me in these early stories is the violence and the fact that Batman kills the bad guys without a second thought. As I've said previously, these stories read a lot like the Shadow radio program from the same era did. Honestly, if you had to choose between reading these or listening to the Shadow, I'd tell you to listen to the Shadow. It has the same vibe as these stories but it has better writers working on it.

Another early Batman story down. Nothing special as far as a story goes. It was a fun little romp but I doubt I'll remember much about this story in a few weeks.

I'd give this story a C- for keeping my interested despite the glaring flaws in it's execution.

Batman and Robin #16

2010-11-04T21:18:00.000-04:00

Bruce Wayne as Batman is back. Together with Dick and Damian they take out all of the minions of Dr. Hurt. Bruce goes after Hurt while Dick and Damian go to take out Pyg. Dick and Damian take out Pyg by turning his minions on him. Hurt on the other hand lures Bruce into one of the prisons by using Alfred as bait. Batman escapes since he built the prisoner. He pounds on Hurt a bit and Hurt claims that Bruce can't best him.

Hurt escapes as Bruce chooses to save Alfred instead. Hurt comes across the Joker and slips on a banana peel. Joker proceeds to bury him alive. Damian disarms the nuke that the Joker had set up in previous issues. The issue ends with Bruce revealing the new Batman Inc. and publicly states he's been supporting Batman for all of these years.

My Take: I'll admit it right here. I've enjoyed JLA and Seven Soldiers by Grant Morrison. I've pretty much hated everything else he's ever touched in the last decade. I hated his run on New X-Men and I can't recall anything else he's done off the top of my head. I had been enjoying this until he went back to the R.I.P. stuff. I felt R.I.P. was a poor storyline and that the only person that really enjoyed it was... Grant Morrison.

I didn't really enjoy this issue. The art was all over the place as I think three artists had to work on it to get the book out on time. Sometimes I don't notice but it was really jarring in this issue. It ranged from really good to below average throughout the issue.

I don't find Thomas Wayne/Dr. Hurt to be a particularly compelling villain. Morrison has set him up as this big bad that might be the devil himself. He's just a boring deus ex machina to me. He's really a symbol for what has been wrong with Morrison's run on Batman. He takes these obscure little Silver Age characters and then shoves them down our throat as being an important part of the Bat-verse, see also Knight and Squire.

The story wasn't awful or anything. It flowed better than the last issue did. It just wasn't of any real interest one way or the other. Bruce is back... whoop-de-do I guess.

This kicks off having like 6 Bat titles a month. I'm not so thrilled for that. I think DC would be better served to keep it to 3.

I'll give this a C for a boring story with solid writing execution.

Secret Avengers #1

2010-10-31T17:24:00.000-04:00

This issue begins with Black Widow and Valkyrie undercover. They steal a package from a Roxxon employee and escape with Steve Rogers. Rogers and Beast realize that it isn't the item they thought it was. They're looking for the Crown of Serpents. Having struck out Rogers sends Moon Knight and Ant-Man to the Roxxon HQ and has them steal information for him. During the raid we see Rogers recruiting MK and AM to the Avengers and their motivations.

Rogers, Beast and War Machine look over the recovered information and discover some strange things have been happening with Roxxon's Mars operation. It appears all of the employees involved with the operation have disappeared without a trace. Rogers says that he will have someone check it out.

We skip ahead and Rogers has gathered his team together and announces they'll be going to Mars for a rescue mission. He sent a scout and hasn't heard from the scout since. We get a flashback of Nova escaping an attack on Mars. He finds this underground temple and approaches an object that looks similar to what they stole earlier. The object reacts to Nova's approach. The issue ends with Sharon Carter being taken out and Nick Fury reveals himself and mentions something about the Shadow Council.

My Take: This book was very different from Avengers and New Avengers. The art is much darker and the team is about operating in the shadows and finding the hidden threats to challenge. It's a little weird that they ended up in space but I'll get to that a little later.

I really like the roster that's been set up for this team. Steve Rogers, Sharon Carter, Beast, War Machine, Ant-Man, Moon Knight, Black Widow, Valkyrie and Nova make for a very offbeat yet interesting team. I really hope Marvel lets this roster get a few storylines together before they add or subtract people. I am thrilled to have Beast back in the Avengers too. He hasn't been a full time Avenger since the early 80s and he's been long overdue for a return.

Ed Brubaker is writing this book and he's perfect for the job. It really feels like an extension of the current Captain America series and that's just fine with me. My only real issue with the writing is that they ended up on Mars. I feel like a covert ops book should be more grounded and more street level. Let the Avengers go to Mars and deal with some big outer space threat. That was my main gripe with the book but it's mostly a small one.

I really enjoyed the issue though. I like offbeat groups of heroes like this. I loved Marvel Knights and I feel that this book is kind of a continuation of that. The amount of mystery and intrigue was really good. I thought the art was great and really fit the tone of the storyline. I'm looking forward to issue 2 of this series.

I've seen some negative reaction to three Avengers books. I really don't see the big issue with it. You have three very distinct books and three fairly distinct teams. I read all three first issues and I felt that each was a really unique book. Granted, there was some variables to the quality but I think all three titles were worth it. It seems to fall down to Avengers is your classic Avengers, New Avengers is a continuation of what Bendis wanted to do with the last series and Secret Avengers is a cloak and dagger book. I think it works and I hope they can sustain the quality of the books.

I'd give this a B+ for coming out of left field and really surprising me with a different experience than what I'm used to getting from an Avengers title.