Week 21 (Jan. 25, 2012)

I think that the last week of every month might be my favorite.  I know that when I was picking my books off the rack this morning, I was more excited than usual at what I was seeing.  So here we go:

• Justice League #5  was . . . alright.  Some parts are coming on line others are falling off the rails.  Batman and Green Lantern have moments where they are growing as characters and falling into niches, almost making me think Johns was writing them badly on purpose.  I want to believe that, as I have stated that he is a phenomenal writer on all his other ventures.  So Batman and Green Lantern: check.  These two are hitting their strides.  Wonder Woman? FAIL!!! Not a good representation of her by any definition.  She is flat as can be.  Aquaman and Cyborg are almost non-existent.  The Flash is neutral, as he does some things and has a few lines of dialogue, but really doesn’t add anything to the issue itself.  My major complaint is Darkseid.  One of the greatest characters in the history of DC, definitely it most ominous villain, and he doesn’t say a DAMN word!!!  Yes, he is a calm, collected, calculating despot who is often of few words, but the key phrase is “few words”, not “no words.”   If he is going to take over a planet, cliche as it may be, he would say who he is, where he comes from, and that everyone needs to give up before shit goes down.  He may as well be Doomsday, a mindless wrecking machine, the way he’s portrayed here.  And there is only one more issue featuring his invasion (which is absurd) so there is little room for characterization in the next one.  Why didn’t they just have him send his son, Kalibak, who is an idiot and doesn’t need to talk?  This is such a bad representation of him it makes me a little ill.  A final note on my annoyance of Darkseid in this issue, the part with the Omega Beam and Superman . . . that is NOT how the Omega Sanction WORKS!!!  It is the “death that is life”, not an “ouch that kind of stings” . . .  NO!!!
• Aquaman #5 enters into the “Who Sunk Atlantis?” arc.   THIS is Geoff Johns doing what needs to be done.  This is a series where all the cylinders are firing and the whole works purring like a kitten.  Aquaman, unlike how he is portrayed in the aforementioned Justice League, is not a sub-aquatic douchebag, but rather a very intelligent, compassionate, oft times haunted individual with the burden of a crown on his head, but a conflict of conscience.  Johns tells the story well of Arthur being caught in the middle of the desert, and flashing back to how he got there.  Most of the relevant story points occur in these flashbacks, which had me wondering why he was in the desert in the first place.  In retrospect after reading it, I think that him being in the desert facilitated a good amount of framing for the character as well as offering the conditions for those events to occur.  Johns has me intrigued as to what he has in store. I panned his writing really badly in the Justice League #5 review, and I won’t apologize, because the issue for the most part was a piece of crap.  This issue conversely was incredibly well done, following a four issue arc that was itself a work of art.  Good work, Mr. Johns.  You have me sold on Aquaman and Green Lantern at least.
  

  Fish out of water . . .

• The Flash #5  maintained and exceeded its potential this month.  The “Mob Rule” arc comes to a close and the way in which cowriters, Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato, bring it to a close is indicative of the genius both possess.  Barry come on strong like a hurricane after his resolution made on the last couple of pages in the previous issue and saves the day.  However, within the resolution several problems arise.  The one revealed at the end of the issue will be a game changer for the title and strike deep to the core of who and what the Flash actually IS.  However, the issue doesn’t just wrap up the conflict with the villain and the threat to the Gem Cities, it also brings definition to the character of both the Flash and Barry Allen, showing where both fit into the world of Keystone and Central City.   This issue was tightly plotted, expertly drawn and colored, concise, yet also open in its ending, epic, but also touching.   One of the best that comics have to offer.
• Batman: The Dark Knight #5  was excellent this month, although to some it may seem very short.  Literally it takes place in one room, and to a lesser extent a few pages just  a few feet outside the room.  I think that it was important to what the arc has been working toward, because it gives Batman perspective.  So far he has fought Two-Face, the Joker, and several others who are juiced up on the steroidal fear toxin, but you can’t fight what you don’t understand.  This issue gives Batman new insight into this strange new cocktail and the aftermath of what he takes from the events of this issue is something that I look forward to reading.  Also worth noting, is the kinder more gentle presentation of Superman than we have seen elsewhere in the New 52.
  

  What ARE they looking at?

• Green Lantern: New Guardian #5  was an issue that toward the end hinged on the concept of faith.  That is kind of like the series itself.  It had promise in the first few issues, but took awhile to come together.  I had faith that it could eventually reach the promise that was inherent in the premise, and this issue is where faith is rewarded, both in and outside of the narrative.  The New Guardians are still very divided and laden with internal politics and prejudices, but the threat, which in my review of issue #4 I described as ‘astronomical’, binds them together against a greater evil.  Through their assault against the threat called “The Orrery” writer Tony Bedard does a lot of great characterization.  In the case of Bleez, he merely summarized what Peter Milligan did in issue #3 of the Red Lanterns.  Munk remains a dark horse, but Bedard does do a good job redefining Fatality, as well as giving the first real depiction of Orange Lantern, Glomulus, as an individual character.  Glomulus is perpetually depicted by Larfleeze’s side at his beck and call. So much so that it seemed like he lacks any self determination.   Glomulus debunks this for us simply, yet succinctly, “Glomulus is not Larfleeze. Glomulus is Glomulus.”  What can I say?  I like the little spud.  He’s like Slimer from ‘Ghost-Busters.’  Finally, you can tell Bedard is grooming Arkillo to take over the Sinestro Corps now that Sinestro is seemingly a Green Lantern.  I am all about this series, now.  The New Guardians are beginning to live up to the previous, Hal Jordan led iteration of the team.  Reading this series is a good decision.
• Voodoo #5  is an answer issue.  Doesn’t give all of them, but the tantalizing information it reveals legitimizes the purchase of the past four issues.  The issue’s solicitation on the front cover states “Voodoo meets her maker: Daemonites!”   Her makers being Daemonites isn’t a shocker.  What the Daemonites have been hiding from her is . . .  Another reason why I cling to this title is that her motivations are similar to that of Superboy.  Both are weapons that are made to do abhorrent things, and yet we are drawn to them, because despite being blunt instruments they react organically to their surroundings and show genuine depth and moral confliction.   The issue is fantastic, despite the loss of writer, Ron Marz.  If the splash page hadn’t tipped me off, I would have sworn Marz was still holding the pen, so that speaks very well for the new writer, Josh Williamson.  Welcome aboard, sir.
  

  Voodoo and the Daemonite

• Justice League Dark #5, a perennial favorite of mine, reaches the conclusion of its inaugural arc.  This series is NUTS!  I love it!  Peter Milligan has always had a penchant for the darker, grittier subjects and this series delivers the mainstream DCU in exactly that fashion.  I’ve likened it to a Vertigo series and I come back to that comparison, yet again.  What I like about it is the ‘no holds barred’ attitude it takes with the characters and their interactions.  Decency and pretensions are thrown to the wind with these guys and the “heroes” of the DCU appearing herein do and say some pretty messed up things in order to save the world.  What I believe really flavors the series and makes it work so fundamentally with the readers is the fatalism it evokes.  Maybe the heroes will prevail, but by the end you ask yourself if they really won considering the costs . . .  Peter Milligan is amazing. I love all of his work and this series perpetuates that stellar track record.
• Fury of Firestorm #5  drives home the idea of the Firestorms as the next stage in the evolution of human arms proliferation.  The issue shows how the Firestorms are viewed in Russia and then how they are treated in the US.  As with Cold War fiction, the Russians are straight shooters that tell it like it is, with no sugar coating.  In the US, Ronnie and Jason are pampered and saturated in sugary mendacity while they are manipulated like pawns.  Jason is wise beyond his years and as such distrustful.  How they manipulate him throughout the issue just goes to show how powerful the people pulling their strings in America are.  Even though they have greatly changed in this new series, the characters of both Ronnie and Jason are fascinating to watch as they react and adapt to the new, high octane world they have been initiated into.  That is most effectively demonstrated by the final page.  Things have changed more than any of us could have imagined.
• Superman #5 confused me.  The plot of the issue itself made sense, but I am uncertain as to what they are trying to achieve.  I mean the issue presents a rogue Superman, but it seems like they’ve been aiming for that in Justice League and Action Comics.  Maybe this title is on the same page as Batman: The Dark Knight, but it would be nice if the character was more homogeneous and less schizophrenic.  The last panel, as ever, sheds some light on it, but assuming you take it into account, it still raises the question of how Superman is viewed and who he actually is: the boy scout of old or the headstrong renegade of today . . . ?
• Teen Titans #5  picks up where #4 ended and what a conclusion to the first contact of Superboy and the Titans!  Holy COW!  This issue packs some punches, both literal and metaphorical, and once again I gotta hand it to writer, Scott Lobdell.  The tricky thing is taking a protagonist from one series and making him the villain in another without demonizing the character.  A lot of times its like feuding parents, the writer of one book propping his character(s) up and skewing the other character(s) as the problem, and the retaliatory effect of the other book’s author doing likewise to canonize their character and demonize the other.  See the crossover earlier this month of the fifth issues of OMAC and Frankenstein for a classic example of this.  In this, Lobdell is the parent of both parties and can adjudicate fairly.  He skews our perception of Superboy just enough to making him a proper villain until the very end when Superboy narrates the conclusion of the conflict and we see his perspective.  I’ve made no secret that I love Superboy, and when he is cast at the beginning of the issue as the villain, he reminded me of another villain I loved to hate: Sinestro.  Sinestro was/is hypnotic to watch fight, because he is very noble and intelligent in his comportment.  He will beat the shit out of the protagonist and the entire time, in a very eloquent manner, tell them why they are inferior to him mentally and physically.  Superboy does just the same and, I dunno, it works for me.  I kinda rooted for him a few times, although Superboy vs. Red Robin was a hard one to take sides on. I like Tim Drake A LOT!  Conversely, I also like this Superboy A LOT!  Across the board, this issue had great story, wonderful action, witty yet age appropriate dialogue, and killer dynamism.
• On the topic of teenage superheroes, Legion: Secret Origins #4 came out this week as well.  I have raved over the past three issues.  This one was an interim issue.  There was a little action and there was a little exposition, but overall it was kind of whelming.  I don’t doubt that the series is going somewhere and that the ending will justify the journey, but this issue lacked anything dramatic to latch onto.  I feel like there may have been some hints as to something greater on the horizon, especially Phantom Girl’s last statement in the issue, but I am unable to comment on it, so I’ll say that I anticipate next month’s issue.
• I bought I, Vampire #5, but yet again I have nothing really to say about it.  Not a good comic.  Wondering why I keep getting it.
• All-Star Westerns #5 continues Jonah Hex’s adventures in Gotham, assisted as ever by Doctor Amadeus Arkham.  In the previous issue, this odd couple went into the underground tunnels of Gotham in search of kidnapped children who had been disappearing from the harbor district.  Being underground and in Gotham, there is one place they’d have to go to make an excursion to Gotham really count, right?  The cover confirms it: “Inside the BAT CAVE!”  Sure it doesn’t exist as Batman’s lair, yet.  However, like so much in this series so far, there are legends built off of, and the Bat Cave has a story to tell even before the advent of the Batman.  In the backup feature starring the “Barbary Ghost”, we are given her back story.  I’m starting to like All-Star Western with its backup story, which is very reminiscent of the anthology books of the Golden and Silver Ages.  They also are busting out some incredible characters.  Capital Q quality in this title.
• Kirby Genesis #5, the main title in that line, is new for the first time in over two months.  Its back and it came back strong.  They chose the right moment for the overly extended break, because at issue’s end of the fourth installment all the disparate elements were coming together.  This issue picks right up with the likes of Silver Star, Captain Victory and his Galactic Rangers, the Gazran Knights, and the Galaxy Green Apprehension Squad fighting side by side against the Lightning Lady, Darius Drumm, and other primordial baddies.  It also gives us a creation myth of the Earth and several of the forces at work in this book.  I feel like if I had access to some of the older material that this series was based off of I would be jumping out of my seat in unadulterated geekish ecstasy.  Right now, I am merely squealing with geekish glee at how fantastic the story is.  This isn’t exactly the same thing, but still a tribute to the excellence of the series’s writing, art, and premise.
• Green Hornet Annual #2  was pretty good.  For the most part it dealt with one of the prevalent issues of the day: the death of newspapers.   It was interesting as this half of Britt’s life is highlighted and the Green Hornet aspect is played down.  What’s more, Kato (the original), also takes the opportunity to mentor Britt in how to run the newspaper like his father did when he was alive.  Its interesting as Kato’s lessons had up until now been relegated to fighting and crime fighting, both of which are the highlights of the title.  However, writer Mark Rahner points out that as Britt Sr.’s valet and confidante, Kato had great insight into his managerial style as publisher of the Daily Sentinel, as well as his fighting style as the Green Hornet.  The one thing that bothered me was that the caper Britt and Mulan were busting up came to an anti-climatic end.  There was one panel of resolution, albeit a two page spread. I did like it, but they could have given it at least two more pages of  resolution, considering that we are already shelling out $4.99 for it.
• American Vampire #23 could not have been better.  Alright, perhaps I am exaggerating, but not by much.  I am really starting to fall in love with Travis Kidd.  He’s got the ‘Rebel Without a Cause’
  

  Virgin cover art for "American Vampire #23"

  James Dean thing going on, but at the same time he is way smarter than James Dean.  I can’t imagine Scott Snyder writing about the original emo-hipster without modifying him a bit, and true to form Snyder delivers a very intelligent yet super cool representation of the 50’s teen scene, only with vampires.  Teens? Vampires? And it doesn’t suck (Metaphorically.  Literally there is some suckage)?  That goes to show you the true genius of Scott Snyder.  The issue also features the history of Travis and the origin of his burning hatred of vampires.  He’s a driven kid with his eye on the ball, but he does have a sense of decency.  In all fairness, I have a weakness for bobby socks too.  This issue was incredible and when you find out who’s in the Ford Fairlane . . . HOLY SHIT!!!

• And as ever, the final book of the month is Unwritten #33.5.  I love this series and the .5 issues have been an added treat.  This one was absolutely horrifying, and all the more so because the horror is born from the reality of the subjects described.  It follows one of the most intriguing and little known characters in The Unwritten, Madame Rausch, the aged puppeteer somehow connected to the Cabal.  In this issue we see her childhood at around the age of ten in the year 1740.  The story is narrated by a soldier billeted in her parents country manner during a time of political turbulence in the Holy Roman Empire.  The soldier is a truly kind man and slowly as he lives his day to day life, the mask of what goes on behind closed doors unveils itself to his eyes.  The stern master of the Manor, Herr Toller, the seemingly indifferent wife, Caroline, and the emotionless, almost catatonic, Anna-Elizabeth.  The horrors of the little girl’s life and the sickness that turned her into the shell of a girl that she is depicted as shocks him, but more so the reader, as this is not something that has become extinct in the contemporary world we live in.  There is a supernatural horror that is almost completely ignored by the reader in comparison with the revulsion elicited by the revelation of Anna-Elizabeth’s life.  The fact that she continues on into the modern day stories tells you that there is some escape for her, but begs the question of how many children do not have the same luxury of escape that she had . . .

A really good crop of books came out this week.  After finishing them and looking back over what I have read this week, I am a little disheartened that I will have to wait four, maybe in some cases FIVE WEEKS for the next chapters.

Illustration Credits:

Aquaman #5: Drawned by Ivan Reis, Colored by Rod Reis, Inked by Joe Prado

Green Lantern: New Guardians #5: Drawn by Tyler Kirkham, Colored by Nei Ruffino, Inked by Batt

Voodoo #5: Drawn by Sami Basri, Colored by Jessica Kholinne

American Vampire #23: Drawn by Rafael Albuquerque, Colored by Dave McCraig

Week 20 (Jan. 18, 2012)

This was a really extraordinary week in comics.  There were a few this week that gave me chills:

• Batman #5 was BAT SHIT CRAZY!!!  I mean that in the best way.  Snyder is taking the Bat in a very dark (or perhaps you could say very BRIGHT) direction and the comic itself is a key to the ambiance and generator of mood.  Obviously a comic containing a story
  

  Batman and the Court in "Batman #5" drawn by Greg Capullo

  generates a lot of things including mood and ambiance.  Please don’t take this comment in that light, and think I’m an idiot. What I mean by that statement is when you read the book itself, the way the pages are plotted and oriented gives you a sense of the insanity and delirium that the Dark Knight is experiencing while traversing the events of each page.  You yourself go a bit mad, and what’s more, there are a lot of clues to the mystery of the Court of Owls left for Batman (and us) to find, but Batman is so out of it that apart from drawing attention to them, he doesn’t really piece anything larger together from them, leaving us with this monolithic mystery and no Detective to solve it.  So we are in a position to posit what WE think the Court is and what it is up to.  In many ways, Snyder has imbued this book with infinite detail and finely tuned storycrafting.  Its not an action issue at all, and only on the periphery is it a story issue as nothing solid is really revealed. But the possibilities it gives and the anticipation it builds make up for the lack of the previous two criteria, and then some.

• Green Lantern Corps #5 fell flat for me this week.  Some of the things involved were merely opinion differences and another was straight up fact-of-the-matter-What-the-HELL-are-you-thinking-Tomasi?   First of all, I love the storyline of the “Keepers” arc.  Its a very intriguing, well thought out plot.  I have stated before, that the concept of the Keepers is right up there with the evil Manhunter robots, the Controllers, the Darkstars, etc., all being institutions and groups with a history of antagonism with the Guardians and their Green Lantern Corps.  Beautiful storytelling, as can be expected from Tomasi.  In this issue the turning point has been reached and a counterattack is immanent.  One thing that they intend to do makes sense to me, and I will leave you to read the issue to see what that is, because its a good idea.  The next thing is Guy Gardner recruiting a biker gang of Green Lanterns.  Seems really sleazy and uninspired.  This is opinion.  The next, which I will spoil, because of the sheer idiocy of it, is that the group of Lanterns taking the fight to the Keepers raid a space shipment for guns.  Not even plasma guns or phasers or cool laser rifles, straight up 50 caliber sniper rifles, Colt 45’s and shotguns.  They have the most lethal weapon in the Universe on their hands and their first impulse is to get guns.  “Hey, we got a Sherman tank, but before we go into battle we need slingshots. LOTS of slingshots.”  I get that perhaps their rings won’t work on the  Keepers, but why do they have to resort to such mundane of weapons as gunpowder firearms when there is a whole universe of choices to pick from?!  Bad show, Tomasi.  I know you can do better than this.
• Catwoman #5 started off up in the air (literally) and quickly descended into a quick paced action comic that does what I think any good Catwoman story should: go really wrong REALLY fast!  Selina is a glutton for punishment and I think that I would get really pissed with her constant, masochistic fuck ups, if  it wasn’t so damn entertaining to see how she gets out of them.  For those of us who own cats or have exposure to them, you’ll understand my next point.  I think what Judd Winick gets is that Catwoman literally is a woman whose behavior is that of a CAT.  Her curiosity and lack of willpower gets her into constant trouble and the fun is, as with cats, watching them extract themselves from it. If you’ve ever seen a cat jump on something clearly unstable or similar situations, its sad, but engaging to watch.  That is what makes this series great.  Every issue ends with her having that same sheepish look your cat does when they pick themselves up after trying to pouncing on a bird that is on the other side of a plate glass window.  This issue’s ending is no exception.
• Red Hood and the Outlaws #5 was seamless with last month’s issue.  They fit together perfectly and continued in the same vein, revealing a great deal about the course of the series and what’s to be expected.  The Untitled made their first appearance in the form of an unexpected character and a xenophobic human entered the scene with a very peculiar attack on Starfire.  This issue shows the aftermath of both occurrences and hints at the underlying characters of each Outlaw, as well as the nature of the conflict arising with the Untitled.  I think, more than ever, I am a Roy Harper fan.  He kicked a little bit of ass in this issue and really showed his true colors.  Lobdell portrays him well as a one time shining star who fell from glory through drug abuse and bad choices, but still a really decent guy just trying to get back on his feet and amidst all his mistakes, still a person his friends can count on when the chips are down and things look grim.  I think Starfire is on the road to become a more dynamic character through her journey with these two awesome, yet messed up dudes.  And in the case of Jason Todd, the mystical back story that prompts their world tour de force is unraveling slowly and the moody Jason is starting to get depth in this new iteration.  All in all, I am really starting to get invested in the three of them and their journey.  I really feel that this issue coupled with the last two are creating something great that will have long standing implications in the future stories written about all three of them.
• Nightwing #5 heated up the arc and took it in to a very sudden turn.  This issue has Haly’s Circus setting up shop in New Orleans and the demons of one of the circus’s star performers coming back to haunt him, literally.  The issue is relatively self contained and awesome, so there isn’t much I can say about it that wouldn’t be spoiling the truly incredible storytelling.  However, I can reveal with no guilt that the issue is worth it, if only for the BOMBSHELL that writer Kyle Higgins drops on the last page.  The rest of the issue was stand alone.  The events that close the issue out are very much in line with the main story arc and portend sinister events in store for Mr. Grayson in the near future . . .
  

  Wonder Woman and Poseidon in "Wonder Woman #5" drawn by Tony Akins

• Wonder Woman #5 . . . I remember very vividly reading Wonder Woman #1 and it being lackluster, completely eschewing any characterization in lieu of masturbatory scenes of Wonder Woman violently hacking mystical creatures into their essential parts like a friggin’ Chicago slaughterhouse. I’m not going to come down on a comic for depicting sex, violence, or anything as long as it serves a purpose.  This, I felt, pretty much holding the story up instead of supplementing it.  That is just shoddy writing.  This issue and the one before it really turned that around.  Diana’s persona is beginning to shine through and I really feel that Azzarello has a good feel on the character and making her a noble, strong woman without making her into the overly misanthropic stereotype that less seasoned writers have blundered into.  I really like her and want her to succeed now, and for a long time I was afraid that she wasn’t going to come off like that in the new DC Universe.  I am thrilled.  The issue was very much a story issue with only the hints of action at the end, which means that issue #6 will probably be the action issue to balance out this month’s story issue.  I personally don’t mind, because a story issue was long overdue and the information given really rounded the book out.
• Legion of Superheroes #5 was much like Wonder Woman.  This month’s issue took a break from the fast paced first arc and showed a day in the life of the Legionaires. Not really any action, just a story issue that lays seeds for future plot points.  Mainly it just showed how some Legionaires relax and unwind between life or death missions, as well as which are haunted or plagued by past events, and the general sense of community that exists between them.  With this issue casually showing the Legionaire’s mental or emotional states, when the next several arc happen a great deal of the ground work will already be laid, and we can harken back to this issue’s events in quick references so that the intense action can continue uninterrupted and we can enjoy.  Overall a good issue.  However, I am not personally a fan of Walt Simonson’s art.  That may be heresy, but its too angular and rough for me.  I feel like with age his art should have softened and refined itself, but then again, even Jack “The King” Kirby’s artwork kinda peaked in the 70’s and took a nose dive in the 80’s.  Overall though, it was a good issue that was fun to read and will probably be invaluable in the future of Legion of Superheroes story lines.
• In DC Universe Presents #5 the Deadman arc comes to its metaphysical ending.  Looking back on my impressions from the previous four issues, its funny.  I had some initial impressions that I think were well reasoned in the beginning, but just didn’t pan out.  I really liked the arc and I feel its a tribute to Paul Jenkins that my impressions turned out to be false, as it just goes to show what dynamism he employed in its penning.  The main thing that fell through for me was my impression of Rama Kushna being a transcendental, Bodhisattva-like being who promotes equanimity and karmic balance.  Not quite how she is revealed in this last issue.  The conundrum that lead her to initiate this story arc by assigning Deadman this “impossible task” is very thought provoking in the simplicity of the elusive question Rama seeks and the very essence of what makes us all human.  Can gods really be jealous of humans?  This arc was great in my opinion, completely divorced from the motivations of the original series that spawned it, and presented in a very fresh and poignant manner. If you missed these first five issues, look for the Trade when it come out, most likely this summer.
• Supergirl #5 branches off of the first conflict, but perhaps not the first arc of the story.  Supergirl has emancipated herself from the sinister forces on Earth, but goes in search of her home, Krypton.  I won’t spoil anything by stating that she obviously doesn’t find Krypton, as Krypton is destroyed.  However, what she does find, and more to the point who she finds in this issue holds integral clues to the destruction of her home world, its dark history, and the possibility of those dark secrets affecting the future of Earth in coming issues.  Writers, Michael Green and Mike Johnson (whom in future reviews I will simply refer to as “The Mikes”), really have an interesting plot point by issue’s end that hopefully will pan out and really set the series in a niche that so far it hasn’t filled.
• Birds of Prey #5 . . . beautiful artwork, still not that great of a title, but I am holding on at least until the end of the arc so I can at least know what the hell is going on.  I figure if it still sucks by the end of the arc then it will probably continue in that vein.
• Blue Beetle #5 threw out a few tricks that ensnared me on a series that I thought to be floundering.  The Blue Beetle concept was one that I wasn’t super familiar with and to me the series was just maintaining, on top of the fact that, for me, the art of Ig Guara, isn’t stellar.  In this issue though, they solidified certain plot points, introduced at least two new conflicts, and writer Tony Bedard drops a reference to a crossover he has planned for the Reach as antagonists in his other DC series,Green Lantern: The New Guardians.  I think I can say that this issue is safely on my pull list through this coming summer.  I look forward to what Bedard has in store.
• T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #3 continues on the journey that #2 began, which following the shocking ending of issue #2 is a doozy.  The first half of the issue is the rescue team dispatched by T.H.U.N.D.E.R to rescue Lighting and Dynamo.  Once they reach their goal of the Subterranean kingdom the group splinters and we follow NoMAN, aka Anthony Dunn, on his journey through this underground war land.  This was interesting as his section of the story is a cascade of images that flashback to the 60’s and forward to the present and are overlaid with disconnected musings of internal monologue.  He is the only member of T.H.U.N.D.E.R who was alive during the last war with the Subterraneans and though his thoughts are hazy, since he is really talking to himself not us, they hint that he created a super weapon to end the war (probably not unlike the A-bomb in WWII) that he employed to annihilate millions of innocent Subterraneans to force a treaty out of them.  A great deal of insight is shown into the very flat seeming character of NoMAN.  This part of the story was interesting, although slightly annoying as it was really sketchy and hard to follow.  What wasn’t hard to follow was the surprise that awaited us on the last page. HOLY SHIT!!!  To those who are familiar with the story and the background of the title, this one is a real shocker . . .
• Green Hornet #21 was another interim issue like issue #20, that was a light(er), stand alone story of Britt and to a lesser extent, Mulan.  This time it deals with a wayward friend of the new Hornet from his youth and the latter helping him out of the hole he dug himself.  Its a little bit static and cliche, but in the details, there was some really touching characterization.  I think it went a long way toward characterizing Britt and developing him as a lead character on par with his dad. Not a stellar issue, but worth a read while waiting for the next arc that will start in #22.
• Steed and Mrs. Peel, for those who miss the reference, is a allusion to the 60’s Brit spy series called “The Avengers.”  The dapper gentleman, John Steed and his lovely (yet married) girl Friday partner, Mrs. Peel, come back together for Queen and Country in this mini series penned by the great Grant Morrison.  Reading it, I felt like I was watching the TV series again.  The feel is very genuine, and clearly Mr. Morrison was a fan in his youth.  Again, for those who are unfamiliar with the show or the tone, its a very campy British spy show of the 1960’s.  I say that with great love, as I watched it when I was a kid at my grandmother’s house, who herself was an avid Anglophile.  What I like about the series, on a side note again, is that Steed had three main ladies  who assisted him in his endeavors: Cathy Gale (played by Honor Blackman known by some of you as the infamously named Pussy Galore in the equally infamous Bond flick Goldfinger), Mrs. Emma Peel (played by the gorgeous and exotic looking Diana Rigg) and Tara King (played by the mod Linda Thorson).  The book takes place in the period when Steed has moved on to Tara King following Mrs. Peel’s retirement from the spy game to go adventuring with her scientist husband in South America.  In this series, Steed gets her to return for this case.  The interplay between the two is spot on, right down the iconic mention of Peel stirring Steed’s tea counter clockwise, which is comparable to how James Bond likes his martinis.  You all know what I mean . . .
  

  Alex Ross's Cover to "Kirby Genesis: Dragonsbane #1"

• Kirby Genesis comes out with another spin off series in the epic Dragonsbane #1.  Another of Jack “The King” Kirby’s experimentations, this one you can tell was hashed out while he was getting into his Norse phase that would become the legendary Marvel series Thor.  Whereas Thor takes place in Asgard with the Gods, this series takes place in Valhalla and features a mix of mortals and Gods, although all are termed the Aesir which are the Norse gods.  The series takes place in the Mythlands which once were one, but were sundered and separated by dense and deadly mists in an event called the “Time of the Great Shattering.”  These mists begin to dispel and the heroic Norse heroes long for exploration and battle outside of their peaceful realm.  A opportunity presents itself in the form of a maiden imperiled by dragons, and who better to aid her than the eponymous character, Sigurd Dragonsbane?  Sigurd in Norse myth was a mortal granted immortality by bathing in the blood of the dragon, Fafnir, of whom he slew, but like Achilles in Greek mythology neglected to bathe a patch on his back that is vulnerable to attack. He cuts a similar figure as Thor with a winged helm on his head, but wielding instead of a mighty hammer a long and imposing spear with an intricate head that only Kirby could have designed.  Its a good series that exploits Kirby’s love of all mythologies.  In fact it ends in another mythland with a familiar female Greek that Kirby also wrote about for Marvel . . .

And that is another week.  Looking forward to the final week of the month, which usually garners some of the most outstanding titles.

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any of these images and give credit to those whose work they are.

Illustration Credits:

Batman #5: Drawned by Greg Capullo, Colored by FCO, Inked by Jonathan Glapion

Wonder Woman #5: Art by Tony Akins, Colored by Matthew Wilson

Kirby Genesis: Dragonsbane #1: Art by Fritz Casas, Colored by Salvatore Aiala

Week 19 (Jan. 11, 2012)

January Week 2.  Overall a really great week.

• Green Lantern #5 kicked off this week for me, and as ever, it was a good place to start.  The concluding chapter of the Sinestro arc featuring Hal Jordan brings a very implausible story line to killer junction.  It caps off beautifully several things that writer Geoff Johns has been exploring throughout the five issue run of the book’s current incarnation.  First of all, Sinestro, an incredibly awesome
  

  Beware My Power, Green Lantern's Light!

  character that over the past seven years Johns has taken from villain to complex anti-hero, is put back into his seminal role as a Green Lantern.  After the tense climax of the last issue, this one opens up with him having to actively deal with his past sins against his people and all those he’s hurt, while he attempts to make things right.  The true beauty of what Johns is doing is the deja vu it evokes.  Johns came on the title in 2005 with Green Lantern: Rebirth which was Hal Jordan’s return, not only to the Green Lantern Corps but also to life, and having to atone for the villainous things he did while under the thrall of Parallax.  All he wanted to do was the right thing and he was fought tooth and nail by those he wanted to help and protect because of his past mistakes.  However, he was defined and eventually redeemed by his perseverance and virtue.  What Johns is doing with Sinestro is EXACTLY THE SAME! You may not have liked Sinestro in the past, but when Johns wrote him you always had to respect him for his ardor and the nobility he displayed.  In this arc he has the chance to make amends and become the Greatest Lantern once again.  Will he . . . ?

• Batman & Robin is one of the best titles out there. This fifth issue packed so much content neatly into a very small space that it was nothing short of miraculous.  This issue is a nexus point.  In past reviews, I have said time and again that what makes this series INCREDIBLE is the father son dynamic and how both have a respect for the other, but they are having a hard time reconciling each other’s perspective.  It feels like the classic father/son (maybe comparable to mother/daughter for female readers) conflicts we all have experienced at some point in our lives, and the thing that rings truest is that both of them have been honestly trying.  Also, let us not forget the enigmatic villain NoBody, aka Morgan Ducard.  This connection to Henri Ducard and Bruce Wayne’s road to becoming Batman had all of us guessing where the story line was going and what dark secrets would be evoked out of Bruce’s shrouded past. This issue brings ALL of that to a head and does a stunning job taking the key aspects that have hooked us and combining them into one of the most fundamental issues of the human condition: Fathers and Sons. Bruce fully accepts his mistakes and failings as a father to Damian, and a large part of the issue is a narration of his feelings in the form of an apology to his son whom he may never see again in this life juxtaposed over imagery of him scouring the streets in search of Damian and beating the shit out of anyone who might have information about where he is. In that narration he reveals the history of Henri and Morgan Ducard, another tragic father/son duo who were damaged by the tenuous relationship that exists between a man of violence and his son born to violence. This issue was stellar and the last panel will bring you back, as it most certainly will bring me back next month.
  

  Opening sequence of "Batwoman #5" drawn by J.H. Williams III

• Batwoman #5 was also a concluding issue and one that I’ve been anticipating since September.  She had a run on Detective Comics, but this is her first self titled book and the first arc is very much her reestablishing her identity for those of us just jumping on the wagon.  That said, the way writer/artist J.H. Williams and co-writer W. Haden Blackman choose to open it is very interesting.  The first page is three frames of Kathy Kane meditating over the case she is working on.  Each is the same image, but zoomed in further and further, eventually tightening in on her face, and in the black space between panels is the words that make up the character bio which usually can be found on every title page to clue in the reader to who the character is for late comers picking up an issue of a series in the middle of its run.  It is small and usually skipped over by those of us who know the score already.  This time the writers want us to hear it again and force us to reaffirm who she is as they visually center closer and closer on her in those opening panels, as she herself meditates closer and closer as to who she truly is and what is centrally important to her.  The issue has her face down the enigmatic villain and come face to face with her own guilt, sororital and filial, as well as make a devil’s pact in order to keep a promise.  The issue is SOOO good and really sets the mold for who the character is and what we can expect in the foreseeable future.  To quote her in the issues final line: “I will soldier on.”   Maybe its the bat costume she’s wearing, but I believe her.
• Superboy #5 continues to amaze me every month.  I was prepared to hate the title as I hated the character around the time of Infinite Crisis and Teen Titans, and loved the last incarnation as written by Jeff Lemire.  This rebooted series does have a more angsty, hard edged version of the Boy of Steel, but where he is redeemed is in the intelligence writer Scott Lobdell brings to him.  He is angsty and sometimes petulant, but what validates it is the is deep meaning and philosophy behind his attitude and behavior.  Teens are angsty and rebel against authoritarian figures and his creators are using him as a living weapon.  If anyone has the right to be angsty, he has.  Also he makes mistakes as he struggles to understand the world that he’s only occupied as a cognizant being for less than a year, but already he is learning to make up for those mistakes and learn morality despite the twisted indoctrination he’s constantly assaulted with.  This issue features a conflict that revolves around the clash of the Id and Super-ego, and his desire for freedom, as well as the connotations of what he is being made to do.  I think I like him for the same reason I like Damian Wayne.  Both were raised to be weapons and killers, but each strives to be better and fights their inner demons trying to aspire to a higher ideal.  Each also has innate goodness that they try to bring out, often times tripping along the way, but still getting up and persevering. I like Conner again. I will read him as long as Lobdell keeps on doing what he’s begun in these first five issues.
• Batgirl is a mostly decent title that entertains me month after month.  Admittedly I get it because I am in love with the character of Barbara Gordon.  She is a really strong character who has a great history in DC comics.  Although they drastically changed her story by having her not paralyzed anymore after the Joker shoots her in the spine (a la The Killing Joke), it seems most of her continuity is still intact like most of the Bat Universe.  Issue #5 begins a new arc that features a new villain and the return of a key figure from Barbara’s past.  Gail Simone does a very good job presenting the character psychologically.  The plots are interesting, but lack a lot of the intensity of the other bat books.  I do really like the book on a personal level.  I like seeing the Barbara side and seeing her fix her life and reestablish her footing to this new chapter in her life, post-paralysis.  Also I liked at the end of the issue when as Batgirl she narrates on her relationship to Batman and her aspirations in that regard.  A lot of that is inferred, but  I thought it was interesting to hear her say it out loud.  All in all, a really good title.
• Grifter, like Superboy, was a shock to me and a continuing treat.  I was afraid that this series, along with Voodoo and Superboy’s creator Scott Lobdell taking on a troika of hard edged teen titles, would herald a decline of the DCU I had known and the rise of an edgier Wildstorm-esque Universe.  I was wrong.  One of the things that this series has done is entrench itself in the DCU and divorce itself from most of the Wildstorm roots it had (which on the other hand is kind of sad, asW.I.L.Dcats was a pretty decent series that defined the 90’s comic scene.)  Last issue had Grifter in Seattle invading Q-Core and going head to head with Green Arrow, attempting to smoke out Daemonite sleepers in the tech giant’s upper echelon.  This issue quite capably enforces the character of Cole Cash and starts to shed some light on the Daemonite inner workings and what they are up to.  The end certainly heralds a coming revelation that has me VERY interested in what is going down and in the works for the next batch of issues.
  

  Shade gets patriotic in "Shade #4" art by Darwyn Cooke

• The Shade in its fourth issue takes us back to the DC Golden Age of the 1940’s with espionage, World Wars, and cameos of obscure superheroes of that period that James Robinson has forayed with in the past.  Its no secret that James Robinson is one of my favorite writers and idols. His writing is always fresh and unique, revitalizing old concepts and innovating new ones.  He truly seems at home with Golden Aged properties, i.e. Starman and Justice Society, and this issue drives that point home and knocks it out of the park.  Of course it doesn’t hurt having the extraordinary artist Darwyn Cooke drawing the damn thing.  Cooke is a guy who is most comfortable with Silver Age titles, so it is very interesting seeing him jump back twenty years to the Golden Age.  Un-phased, he lends a genuine feeling to this retro tale of the Shade.  The story seems to be just a whim, but by the end Robinson weaves his magic and ties it to the present as well as lending that touching quality that permeated his work on Starman.  This book is a worthy successor to the Starman books that gave birth to this carnation of him.
• Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E #5 tells the other half of the fight between himself and OMAC from last week’s issue of the latter character’s title.  This one seemed less jarring than OMAC #5, possibly because I had fewer expectations.  I did like it because it made Frankenstein seem like less of a tool than he appeared to be in OMAC.  It also focused more on what Father Time was up to concerning Brother Eye.  This book is ok.  Not as exciting as Lemire’s previous works like The Atom and Superboy, but I do still find it to be entertaining.
• Demon Knights #5 picks up yet again on a high note during the siege of the small village at the foot of the mountain pass leading to the mighty city, Alba Sarum.  The title is only five issues in and already a lot of things have happened and been revealed.  Also the character’s are reaching their breaking points, turning often against one another.  The worst of each character is shown, but amidst all the chaos the best in several instances shines through.  Paul Cornell writes each character, only three of his own creation, extremely well as well as rooting them firmly in the moment.  Madame Xanadu has existed in every period from Camelot to the modern age (as seen in Justice League Dark), but this book make it seem to the reader that THIS is Xanadu’s time and place and where she is meant to be.  The same can be said of her lover, Jason Blood, the Demon Etrigan, and Shining Knight.  Each issue ticks away the hours until the clock runs out and doom or salvation comes to the world of men.  Looking forward to that dark and final hour . . .
• My Greatest Adventure #4, an interesting anthology book, features three intriguing series.  The first is Robotman written by by Matt Kindt and drawn by the amazing Scott Kolins. This story retrofits the origin of Cliff Steele as the human brain inside a robotic body, completely circumventing the Doom Patrol where the character originated in the 60’s.  Interesting and certainly well drawn, but lacking due to the brevity of each installation. Garbage Man written and drawn by Aaron Lopresti is perhaps the best of the three.  Like an urban Swamp Thing, Garbage Man is an abomination created in a super science assassination attempt to shut him up from squealing on ethical misdoings by a chemical company, and as a result he is reborn as a self generating trash being.  Though it sounds cliche and uninspired, Lopresti makes it very interesting and quite worth the read.  Finally, Tanga as written and drawn by Kevin Maguire is an interesting story of an intergalactic party girl with super powers who fights monsters on a planet she has been marooned on.  It has a very 80’s feel to it, and she comes off like a purple, elfin eared Buffy the Vampire Slayer type character.  Its an interesting, albeit campy read that entertains definitely.
  

  Col. Nick Fury and the Blonde Phantom drawn by Howard Chaykin

• Avengers 1959 #5 written and drawn by Howard Chaykin ends its series with a lot of action.  Yeeees, its a Marvel book and you may ask why I’m reading it, but two things: I love Howard Chaykins art and storytelling prowess, and I love Nick Fury.  The series has been good, detailing a neo-Nazi resurgence in the late 1950’s and featuring an Avengers team of people that have NEVER BEEN AVENGERS.  Dominic Fortune and Blonde Phantom I had never heard of, Kraven the Hunter and Sabertooth have often times been villains, and Namora has usually been a tertiary Marvel character.  Seeing them work together as a team was a treat in and of itself.  The series had a great plot, however most of the exposition had happened in the four previous issues and this last issue was kind of just a giant slug-fest that wrapped up the story.  It was entertaining, but came off as just an action issue.  Good series and one I will remember for the uniqueness it brought to these classic characters.
• And yet again we come to the series The Unwritten. I truly love this series.  This months main issue, #33, follows seamlessly off of the previous issue and demonstrates the power of belief over the world and its properties.  This may sound childish and unfeasible, and of course we know this, but the way in which the writers, Carey and Gross, frame it through the villain’s explanation of this property makes it seem to be feasible and unimpeachable as to test it on a grand scale is nigh impossible outside of the comic.  Reading this I am bracing for the end.  There is the possibility that the comic could go on after this, but while reading there are too many apocalyptic signs that signal that the title may be winding down to the final confrontation.  I pray that isn’t the case, as this title has been a constant friend for almost three years, but if it is the end, they are doing a damn good job making every moment count.

So this is probably the last week of emails, folks.  I have set up my blog and so as of next week I will most likely be just publishing them on there.  That’s probably a good thing for most of you, as I will stop contributing to the clogging of your email, and you can then make the choice whether you want to read my thoughts.  I hope you do.   Still working on the title and the formatting, but once I get those ironed out I’ll email you guys the link.  Also, if anyone has any ideas for the name, please shoot them my way.

 

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any of these images and give credit to those whose work they are.

Illustration Credits:

Green Lantern #5: Drawned by Doug Mahnke, Colored by Alex Sinclair & Tony Avina, Inked by Mark Irwin, Keith Champagne, Christian Alamy & Tom Nguyen

Batwoman #5: Art by J.H. Williams III, Colored by Dave Stewart

The Shade #4: Drawn by Darwyn Cooke, Colored by Dave Stewart, Inked by J. Bone

Avengers 1959 #5: Art by Howard Chaykin, Colored by Jesus Aburtov

Week 18 (Jan. 4, 2012)

Ok, these are really late cause its been a crazy assed week, but I got the stuff read, mulled it over and got these out just in time for the next week’s batch. YUS!!!!

• Grant Morrison takes another step into the past in this month’s issue of Action Comics, beginning with Jor-El and Lara making the decision to send baby Kal-El to Earth and his arrival and discovery by the Kents. I have to say that this kind of story is what Morrison excels at.  The bullshit of what Superman has become is truly beneath his talent, and its like watching a truly great artist doing caricatures or watching Sting or Jimmy Page play with Puff Daddy while he sodomizes “Every Breath You Take” and “Kashmir” respectively. (FYI, Morrison is Sting and Page and the DC editorial staff is Puffy Daddy in that analogy.) This issue was an interesting reinterpretation of the Superman creation myth, told in an interesting way, via narration of the rocketship’s A.I.  This is what Grant Morrison does well and its a breath of fresh air.  The crisp artwork of Andy Kubert didn’t hurt too much either.  Starting in the past, the issue ends in the FAR future, introducing a very interesting story line that hopefully will entertain us before we have to go back to the crap that happening in the present.
• Red Lanterns #5 . . . I type the words, and I’m sure what comes next will be no surprise.  One of the top three comics coming out right now.  Shoot, it may be the best. I keep wondering how Peter Milligan is going to top his last issue and somehow the “Handsomest Man in Comics” does it again.  This issue explores so many facinating points and interweaves them in a truly artful way. At the heart of Atrocitus’ rage is his foiled vendetta against the deceased guardian, Krona. However, after the last panel of issue #4 we are shown that it may not be foiled . . . and the Regent of Rage might have the chance to finally fulfill his deepest wish.  Bleez continues to bloom as a sultry, savage Lantern following the return of her reason, and her motives are slowly unfolding as is her true allegiance. Even more interesting is the aftermath of the three other Red Lanterns who were cast into the Blood Ocean to regain their senses to aid in Atrocitus’ crusade. Ratchet is perhaps the most interesting, followed by Skallox, whereas the little that is known of Zilius Zox makes him a dark horse.  Once the trio regain their minds, they immerse themselves in the philosophical conundrums of their Corps, again raising the question of righteousness from Rage.  Ratchet was a torture victim of 40 years whom the ring chose to assuage his burning hatred for his captors.  Skallox was a murdering psychopath betrayed by his crime boss when he outlived his usefulness, only to then receive a red ring.  So who then deserves the chance at justice?  The guilty or innocent?  Martyr or the murderer?  I don’t know the answer, and Milligan probably doesn’t either, but I look forward to seeing how he treats the conflicts and motions the characters in light of the paradoxes inherent in them.  Finally, what caps off this issue like a dollop of whipped cream is his introduction to Earth’s newest Red Lantern, and the identity of said Lantern shocked me, who’s been with the book faithfully since issue #1.  READ IT!!!!
  

  Atrocitus & Bleez in "Red Lanterns #5" drawn by Ed Benes

• Detective Comics #5 enters into a new arc this month, shifting from the Dollmaker to a mysterious assassin somehow tied to the Penguin’s “Iceberg Lounge.”   Writer/Artist Tony S. Daniel keeps the thrills comin’ in classic Batman style. What is promising about his current run, and reminiscent of his previous run onBatman, was his ability to create continuity.  Issue #5 starts us in a new arc, but it doesn’t start us fresh.  It is very much rooted in the consequences of the first four issues, most notably issue #1 and its shocking last panel.  After the skinning of the Joker, protestors gather to “boycot the Bat” as the Joker’s grassroot followers all blame Batman for the Joker’s evisceration.  There is a division on the public’s opinion of the Batman.  Daniel leaves lots of breadcrumbs to be followed and its clear that once again, his vision of the Batman mythos is very clear and will be overarching, assuming there isn’t another reboot.  The promise for me inherent in this arc is that Daniel has tackled the Joker, the Riddler, Two-Face, and a plethora of lesser rogues, but this arc features prominently (or so it appears) the Penguin.  Penguin is iconic and Daniel’s track record is impeccable, so the next arc will be something to anticipate each month.
• OMAC #5 continues in the grand tradition that it has for the past four months.  However, there was a slight degree of dissonance with the crossover event with the title Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E. that began this week.  One thing that Didio and Giffen did well was using Giffen’s Kirby-esque artwork and the two’s knowledge of Kirby’s writing style to root the reader in an authentic Jack Kirby type story, integrating aspects of the current DCU in and assimilating them seamlessly.  However, Jeff Lemire’s style that he has brought to the current incarnation of Frankenstein is counter-intuitive to the style of OMAC and the effect of the crossover was jarring while reading this issue.  Likewise, the second half in next week’s issue of Frankenstein will probably follow in suit.  The story was good and was written well, but the clashing of two disparate titles, I think, was a hindrance to it.
• Swamp Thing #5 is another top pick that owes its excellence to the skill of Scott Snyder, who has brought it back to prominence.  True Len Wein, the Swamp Thing’s creator, made the character memorable, and Alan Moore made him immortal, but after that very few writers have written the character well.  Even after his return to the main DC continuity during Brightest Day, Swamp Thing has been very blasé and uninspired.  Like his work on Batman, Snyder has dug to the ‘roots’ of the character (pun intended) and taken the style and aspects of what have made the title work in the past, and then assimilated that into his own unique voice to make a title that is both reminiscent in its quality, yet entirely new and unique in its presentation.  In both Swamp Thing and Animal Man the war with the “Rot” is heating up and this issue features what is intimated to be a key event in that conflict.  Also through the interaction between Alec and Abby a clue (if not a prophesy) is revealed about the relationship between the “Green” and the “Rot.”  This title, through the genius of its artist Yanick Paquette, is the only title that doesn’t feature a Writer/Artist that is presented in the beautiful, panoramic sequences that are characteristic of both Batwoman and Flash. This title is a must read.
  

  Spare the "Rot", spoil the child . . .

• Batwing #5 was very good yet again, as Judd Winick has a very clear vision of what aspects of a Batbook are universersal and how to integrate them with defining aspects of modern African history to make a book that is truly fascinating and compelling.  In this issue, Winick continues to explore the dark history of David Zavimbe, as well as maintaining the mystery behind the villain Massacre. For a title that is as young as this one, the history and world that it occupies seems very real and intricate.  In five issues Winick has done a phenomenal job of telling what has been thus far a comprehensive, well plotted story. If that weren’t enough, to aid Batwing in his struggle is the fucking Batman!!!
• Justice League International #5 finished its first story arc and was very entertaining.  This first storyline did a good job introducing the eight main characters as well as the part each will play in the dynamic of this ragtag, global task force.  Each has their part in creating a larger whole.  The choices were interesting to begin with, but in the culminating events of this last issue, the reasons behind their being in the JLI become manifest.  The first threat they faced, though very rushed, was apocalyptic to the extreme, and their ability to combat it is indicative of why this title is worth reading.  I will say that other titles, like Justice League Dark for instance, do apocalytic and intensity better, but overall this is a very fun series to read.
• Hawk & Dove #5 also concludes its first arc featuring the villainous Condor and Swan.  Sterling Gates’ writing and Rob Liefeld’s intense artwork make this a good title to read.  The difference between the mirrored teams of Peace and War avatars was very interesting, as was the exploration of the relationship between the Dove and Deadman.  That really was the driving point of the this issue and the one before it.  It will be interesting to see how the consequences of this issue sync up with those of Justice League Dark, which also features the incorporeal Deadman and his budding romance with Dawn Granger (Dove).  This fifth issue is really worth reading and validates everything that the previous four have been working toward and promised us.  Verdict: Paid in full and then some.  I can’t wait to see the next issue that promises in solicitation to feature Dove teaming up with the Batman.
• Green Arrow #5 is still annoying!  Perhaps its a good comic and I’m just a jerk, but in comparison with what it’s pre-reboot predecesser, it is not even close.  This issue especially, I asked myself several times, “What’s happening?” and could not figure it out.  I’m not even talking about overarching events within the plot arc, but just simple moment to moment things.  Its not written well, despite three of the best men in comics working on it.  I think, once again, that is a case of DC got overzealous and changed something for change sake. Green Arrow is not working AT ALL when in the past it was a fine Swiss clock.  I don’t give a shit about Ollie anymore on any level, nor do I really care whether he lives or dies, fails or succeeds.  A new writer is coming on the scene in two issues and I will give the new Green Arrow one more chance.
• Animal Man is a strange title.  It ties directly into the war with the “Rot”, but in a bizarre way that unlike Swamp Thing can be kind of jarring.  I feel like when the “Rot” appears in the latter title it is ominous and eerie.  In this title the agents of “Rot” just seem like Akira rejects and bad acid trips.  The plot does have its interesting points dealing with the “Red”, however the art I think is the greatest detraction to this title in my opinion.  It is jarring and I find my consciousness being pushed out of the narrative often by how truly odd and off putting the imagery is.  The title is however an interesting bookend to Swamp Thing, when the art is disregarded.  In fact, a connection to that character is the focal point of this issue’s last panel.
• Huntress #4 was a good issue, but it fell under the category of a story issue.  The plot was mostly exposition and not a lot of action.  The series thus far has been very good, so I’ve no doubt this was necessary at some point, and with two issues left I think that the concluding issues will more than make up for it.
• Penguin: Pride & Prejudice #4  yet again takes the reader in two directions.  On one side you feel sorry for Penguin as the prejudices against him in regard to his looks are accurate, while on the other hand he does some pretty bad things that are inexcusable.  Both sides are compelling and its hard to tell whether to root for him or root against him.  Next issue concludes the miniseries, and I look forward to seeing how the two sentiments collide.
• I did something bad this week.  I bought a Marvel Comic called Strikeforce Morituri.  It was a one shot comic, but looks to be the introducing chapter to a trilogy of graphic novels to be released over the next several months.  It’s set in the aftermath of an alien invasion by a race colloquially known as “The Horde.”  The Horde have been orbiting Earth for what sounds like decades and have been running sorties against the human race to a seeming standstill.  The comic deals with a government project called Morituri that alters the subjects’ DNA in a way that gives superpowers, but eventually decays and kills the subject.  The allure of the series is in the premise I just mentioned, that almost perfectly mirrors the premise of T.H.U.N.D.E.R Agents, one of my new favorite series.  There is a set up to what might be good, but is barely hinted at. The subjects who we meet are in the process of getting their powers. Except for one member, they don’t have their powers yet and there is no clue as to what they will be.  So I’m guessing they’re banking on the mystery factor to lure readers to the graphic novels, but I think that this is really risky as there is no hint as to what the series is going to be like.
  

  Cover of "Fatale #1" drawn by Sean Phillips

• I also got the first issue of the series Fatale by Ed Brubaker and drawn by Sean Phillips.  As with most of their collaborations, it is a noir story beginning in the 60’s and flashing back to the 50’s when the bulk of the story takes place.  All the elements are there: inquisitive journalist, alluring femme fatale, dirty cop, but twists it up with a hint of the supernatural.  There is a lot going on, and unfortunately I think I might have to buy a few more issues.  This first issue does a beautiful job of posing several questions and leaving them tantalizingly open.  The answers are veiled and hinted at, but vague enough to be red herrings. Its well worth a look-see.
• Warlord of Mars: Deja Thoris continues to tell the tale of the red Martian princess’s first encounter with the black Martians and the search for ancient Barsoomian treasure.  Arvid Nelson does a good job yet again of taking Edgar Rice Burroughs work and filling in the gaps with his own interesting takes on Martian history. The history of the black Martians is hinted at amidst the plot of this side story that ties into the “Gods of Mars” arc that he is adapting in the main Warlords of Mars series. So far I think he has done a stellar job on both fronts, and next month’s issue of Deja Thoris will conclude the “Pirate Princess of Mars” story and perhaps allude to other unique concepts of Barsoom that Nelson has been cultivating.

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any of these images and give credit to those whose work they are.

Illustration Credits:

Red Lanterns #5: Drawned by Ed Benes & Diego Bernard, Colored by Nathan Eyring, Inked by Rob Hunter

Swamp Thing #5: Art by Yanick Paquette, Colored by Nathan Fairbairn

Fatale #1: Art by Sean Phillips, Colored by Dave Stewart

Week 17 (Dec. 28, 2011)

So I haven’t had the time to do these for the past couple weeks.  Barely had the time to do them this week, but its good for me and some people have reaffirmed their liking of them so here we go:

• Aquaman #4 caps off its first story arc with great style.  Geoff Johns takes us to the arc’s eponymous “Trench” and shows the terrifying world that the fish creatures hail from.  By issue’s end Johns’ Aquaman is fully rounded and we are shown what to expect in the foreseeable future.  The conclusion does this perhaps better than the three previous issues combined, as he is shown to go against his moral code when the chips are down and a tough choice has to be made.  In that moment you see him not just as a superhero, but also a king, adjudicator of life and death.  He’s a character with conscience, yet guards his people with a heavy hand when needs dictate. By issue’s end the words of a small boy echo the sentiment of the reader: “Aqua-Man! You’re my favorite super-hero!”
  

  Aquaman's homecoming in "Aquaman #4" drawn by Ivan Reis.

• Flash #4 was a story issue that for the most part answered questions.  This was greatly to my taste, though to the more action minded it may have been less than adequate.  The relationship between Manuel Lago and “Mob Rule” is revealed, the history of Barry and Manuel is clarified, and the fate of Barry after taking a bullet to the head is resolved.  I liked this issue, because it brought the hazy conflict to crystal clarity and now sets the stage for the end of this first major conflict.  This issue is a turning point, a crucible from which a hero is forged.  The first three issues were a getting comfortable period for the Flash, a time when a scientist explores his new found abilities in great detail.  But after the death defying end to issue #3 and barely escaping a bullet ending that cunning intellect, the Flash reevaluates his place in the world and makes himself and us a promise: “Its my job to protect the Gem Cities. No matter what the price I have to pay. I won’t stop running. I’m the Flash . . . This is what I do.”  He won’t stop running, and I for one won’t stop reading him.
• Batman: The Dark Knight #4 is still doing what I want it to do.  It has every aspect I look for in a Batman story: killer artwork, darker than black story line, enigmatic villain operating from the shadows, and connotations to the larger DCU.  The Flash showed up last month and Wonder Woman this month.  David Finch with the help of Paul Jenkins paints a vivid picture of not just Batman and his rogues gallery, but Gotham itself and the politics that govern her.  The status of Gordon as Commissioner of Police is just as tenuous as the conflict between Batman and whomever is pedaling modified fear toxin that makes you bleed out from your eyes.  Seeing the various villains hopped up on the steroidal cocktail, duking it out with the Batman, while the Dark Knight himself tries to figure it all out keeps the reader guessing along with him. I like it.
  

  Star Sapphire, Fatality, leads the way in "New Guardians #4"

• Green Lantern: The New Guardians #4 has been lacking in past months.  This month I feel that the title has centralized and the chaos of the initial conflict is on to the next stage, and hopefully that stage shapes up to be what we all want and the title promised to be.  The real culprit of ring thievery is revealed and is shown to be, in the truest sense of the word, ASTRONOMICAL in scale. The first three issues had a dog-eat-dog struggle between the New Guardians with nothing accomplished.  Now that the peril facing them, their respective Corps, and the Universe in general, is common knowledge I hope and believe that the story will live up to its mandate.
• Justice League Dark #4 continues its descent down the schizophrenic rabbit-hole.  As the story arc has evolved one of the things that really sinks the hook into you, holding you tight to the narrative is the ambiguity as to who the true villain is, as well as the real power brokers of the magical underbelly of this new DCU.  This issue turns most of what we have already read on its head.  There is culpability expressed by those we have seen previously as fiendish,  and assailability to those that have thus far been presented as unassailable.  As ever it plays out like a dream that hovers on the edge of coherence, which to me make it that much more intriguing rather than confusing.  Like the dreams we wake up from and desperately try to hold on to the details, often in vain.  Also the surrealist depiction of mainstream DC characters like Deadman, Dove, Madame Xanadu, and Zatanna adds an allure.  You see all of them one way  in the bulk of DC books, but in this you see a much darker, stranger portrayal, which is oddly more human and thereby more relatable.
  

  Enchantress from "Justice League Dark #4" drawn by Mikel Janin

• Superman#4 was Superman.  Not my favorite book, but certainly not the worst.  The character of Superman is starting to level out. I think the ridiculousness of what DC wanted to do with him is starting to catch up with them and they are returning to their senses and the book is likewise falling back into the status quo.  Overall, the new world he inhabits with Galaxy International owning the Daily Planet, Lois Lane being a television producer, and the Kents being both dead is still novel and threatening to me who fears change, however, it does present a few intriguing points.  Despite the utter heresy of the notion, I am interested about a possible relationship between Clark and another reporter on the Galaxy payroll that writer George Perez keeps hinting at.  I never thought I’d say that, but I am.  The overall conflict of elemental “aliens” that are attacking Metropolis is interesting, but prosaic.  It feels like something that has been done many times before.  In this light, I would say that Superman is being shaken up in the ways that don’t matter and unshaken in the ways that do.
• My exposure to the character of Firestorm is limited and only rudimentary, but I have enjoyed The Fury of Firestorm.  I like the fact that they have taken the character and blown it up to create a whole world around the premise of the title.  Its not just the bearer of the Firestorm Matrix against the world, there is now a whole world around the Matrix.  The multiple Matrices are likened to a new arms race to replace nuclear weapons with nuclear men. To the governments involved, the control of these weapons dehumanizes the nuclear men back to weapons who incidentally have the ability of thought. They are no longer viewed as people.  The connotations are brilliantly explored, so despite any cliches in the telling or annoying reinterpretations of the characters, the world depicted keeps your interest.
• Legion: Secret Origin #3 is moving away from the genesis stage of others commenting on the burgeoning group into the group themselves as characters stepping into the spotlight.  For the first time the Legionnaires are the main characters in this title which is about them.  Contrary to how that may sound, I think the two issue gestation period of others introducing them was necessary to the title to get us to understand the need for them and the world whose ills necessitate their existence. Now that that has been seen to, the training wheels can come off and they can ride under their own power into what promises to be a really quality story of an undervalued team (reader-wise), written by perhaps the most proficient Legion of Super-Heroes writer ever.
• I, Vampire  is comparable to Justice League Dark in terms of the narrative being very dream-like.  However, whereas Justice League Dark felt like a dream born of deep REM seething with rich material mined from the subconscious, this series is like that dream where you get up and go to the bathroom or get a banana from the kitchen, and upon waking you wonder whether it actually happened or was just a dream, which then leads to the question: Do I even care?  There is a war between vampires. The main character is an old vampire who wants to keep his kind in the shadows, and the leader of the vampiric hordes is his ex-girlfriend and one of his “turnings” who wants vampires to inherit the Earth.  That is legitimately all we know, not a summary. True you don’t want to blow the whole story at once, but exposition should happen on some level.  I’m holding out for some great revelation that hopefully will live up to the promise of the title, but so far its a paper plot.
• Voodoo #4 was exceptional once again.  Issue #3 added some real interesting curves (figurative) to her already curvaceous (literal) character and this issue does just the same (respectively).  The government agents pursuing her do some digging into the paper history of Miss Priscilla Kitaen, and as in Highlander there is a history of her that ends in a fire when she was four years old.  Query: Is she in fact that four year old grown up, or someone who took a dead or displaced child’s place?  This complication is done beautifully and skillfully, as the other information casually dropped in the past and throughout this issue lead to a plethora of possibilities. I have about five or six theories that could be true based on the evidence presented.  My guess, I am probably completely wrong across the board, but I can’t wait to see just how wrong I am. I look forward to it. This issue was great on the storycraft aspects I described, but equally, if not more enjoyable, because the the way it is drawn by artist Sami Basri.  His artwork is very sumptuous and fits very well with the character. Voodoo is a very dangerous, cunning, predatory woman whose raw sexuality is almost feline as she hunts for whatever it is that she is after.  And  again, I can only speculate as to what that is, but this time I can wait, because it means I get more time to watch her do what she do.
  

  Superboy and Wonder Girl duke it out on New Years Eve.

• Teen Titans #4 began the fulfillment of what they’ve been teasing since issue one: advent Superboy.  The series started with the mysterious N.O.W.H.E.R.E hunting down and in some cases actually catching the members that would become the Teen Titans.  Now the shadowy cabal is cutting out all the stops, sending in their chief weapon, the bio-engineered Superboy.  Its a delight to read every month and has the teen angsty feel of a CW show like “One Tree Hill” or something, but with an actual plot that’s going somewhere.  Tim, Bart, Conner (I think he’s taken that name already), and Cassie are written incredibly well and the new cast of Miguel (Bunker), Kiran (Solstice), and Celine (Skitter) are equally as compelling.  This issue continues into Superboy #5 and I am curious to see it from Superboy’s perspective, as he’s not a bad guy, just confused.
• All-Star Western #4 maintains its standard of quality jumping from the Jack the Ripper-esque escapades of the fledgling Religion of Crime acolytes in Gotham to kidnappers abducting poor children to further a vast, nefarious plot.  The triumvirate of Palmiotti, Gray, and Moritat are churning out the same quality of work, and the issue is backed up with an interesting character, The Barbary Pirate, who I believe is brand new, debuting here.  Phil Winslade illustrates her tale, penned by Palmiotti and Gray.  She is a Chinese immigrant with what appear to be powers of light.  This secondary feature was very short so the details are sketchy, but there was a promising beginning of the struggle of Asian immigrants coming to the West, not only from the Whites, but also their own who came before.
• Captain Victory #2 of Kirby Genesis fame has its second issue out, and its very good. The first issue was the perfect introductory issue.  It introduced the character and world in which the title takes place quick, efficient, and seemingly casual ease.  The evil empire that form the main antagonist to the Galactic Rangers whom Captain Victory serves were introduced, his personal conflict as the Emperor of that evil empire’s grandson is revealed, and the great power wielded by the Rangers is demonstrated in the release of the World Killer in response to the Empire’s greatest weapon, the Black Mass Shadows that enslave and alter those infected.  Issue #2 opens with the aftermath of Captain Victory’s release of the World Killer and the sowing of dissent into the ranks of his men on the Dreadnaut Tiger.  Again it feels like a Kirby comic written by the King himself, which is what this whole initiative is about.
• Warlord of Mars is in the second issue of the arc comprising Edgar Rice Burrough’s second Barsoom novel The Gods of Mars.  There is little to say about this except that Arvid Nelson is a maestro at interpreting these novels faithfully to the comic medium.  They are drawn exceptionally well by series artist Edgar Salazar, and maintain every emotion elicited by the original novels.  If you haven’t read what I have written about them in the past, see if you can, because I don’t want to sound like a broken record.  But just a damn good series that has inspired three spin offs which I have also read and enjoyed.
• American Vampire #22 leaves the old West of the Indian Wars, as well as the battlefields of World War II, and enters into the Rebel Without a Cause 50’s of the American southwest in an arc called “Death Race.”  I went in expecting one thing and found something completely different, and as with Scott Snyder in general, different is always better.  The hep cat feel of the story centralizes the reader in the era making it that much more believable and engrossing.  After that Snyder’s vivid plots take you the rest of the way toward a balls-to-the-wall ride, not unlike the drag race that the issue opens on. READ IT, for the love of all that is holy.  This is one of those series that is destined to be as immortal as the denizens it chronicles.
  

  Yuko Shimizu's cover of "Unwritten #32.5"

• The Unwritten brings out the second of its “.5” issues which chronicle back story relevant to the plot of the main series. Unlike the last issue which had three interlocking stories from across time and landscapes, this one is centered in ancient Ur in the legend of Gilgamesh.  Its purpose this time around is to reveal the nature of the Leviathan as well as more history of Pullman. Other than that I don’t want to say too much.  What I can say is, after finishing it I started jonesin’ for the next issue of Unwritten like a heroin addict.  This series is TOO DAMN GOOD!!!  The way in which they manipulated the story of Gilgamesh was so artful and subtle that I didn’t realize the differences until it was almost done, at which point their changes came to light.  As with American Vampire this series will be by its side if not leading its fellow down the path to immortality.

I may do another one with my favorites from the omitted weeks (I did). We shall see. But hopefully you guys still like these.

 

 

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any of these images and give credit to those whose work they are.

Illustration Credits:

Aquaman #4: Drawned by Ivan Reis, Colored by Rod Reis, Inked by Joe Prado & Eber Ferreira

Green Lantern: The New Guardians #4: Drawn by Tyler Kirkham, Colored by Nei Ruffino, Inked by Batt

Justice League Dark #4: Art by Mikel Janin, Colored by Ulises Arreola

Teen Titans #4: Drawned by Brett Booth, Colored by Andrew Dalhouse, Inked by Norm Rapmund

The Unwritten #32.5: Drawn by Peter Gross & Dean Ormston, Colored by Fiona Stevenson

Week 16 (Dec. 21, 2011)

This was a week that I anticipated for a long time.  There were quite a few must reads that came out, so I won’t keep you all in suspense:

• Batman Incorporated: Leviathan Strikes is something I have been waiting for for MONTHS!!!Batman Inc. is a series that had consistently delivered  month after month until it got postponed in late summer due to the impending reboot.  This issue finishes out
  

  Batgirl and friend get inducted into St. Hadrians.

  the last two issues of the first arc.  The first eight issues, along with the Batman Returns one shot, introduce the world wide cabal called “Leviathan.”  What this special, oversized issue does is reveal the enigmatic villain and what Leviathan has been working toward.  By the end we know what the second half of the series is going to be and that we can expect it mid year in 2012.  The two issues presented in this book include Batgirl (Stephanie Browne) in a British finishing school that is a front for a Leviathan assassin academy for girls (That said, don’t you all want to read it?), and the other the long awaited confrontation with the elusive Doctor Daedalus.  The one thing I will comment on about the first chapter in the Special is Grant Morrison’s choice of teachers.  Though obviously its not them, the teachers bear striking resemblances to Madonna (circa 90’s), Rihanna, Katy Perry, and

  

  The Teachers of St. Hadrians in "Batman Inc: Leviathan Strikes!"

  Lady Gaga.  Interesting.  The second chapter is the confrontation with Otto Netz that has been in the works since issue #3.   It is all encompassing and utilizes almost every aspect of the Batman Inc. institution Morrison has set up over the past year and a half.  The end is a shocker and I’ll leave off on talking about it for those who care to read it.  What I will say is that this title is very raw Morrison.  On his initial run on Batman between 2006-2008 his Batman was more straightforward.  When he transitioned to his Batman & Robin series he had a little more leeway to introduce the more bizarre plot points that make his writing so fascinating.   In Batman Inc., especially with the plots involving Doctor Daedalus, the story is downright psychedelic and pure Morrison.  I am greatly anticipating the continuation of the new chapter coming in 2012.  Those who haven’t read it, hear me now but believe me later, READ IT . . .

  

  What exactly DID Damian do?

• Green Lantern Corps #4 goes off with a bang.  The nature of the green energy powered “Keepers” is revealed as well as their connection to the Corps.  This isn’t a civil affair either.  There is death, hostages, and torture.  One thing I will give Tomasi, he is an uninhibited writer.  There is some really harsh things in this issue and some of these acts are perpetrated by our protagonists.  The issue also features prominently the appearance of another DC character from outside the title.  I am really excited about where this is going.
• Catwoman #4 was a little tragic this month.  Selina really loved Lola.  Her guilt is palpable in this issue, and really it was her fault.  As a result of her bad decisions someone she loves is dead.  She gets this lesson, but still seems to not get the hint that her actions have consequences.  The issue also introduces Det. Alvarez, a handsome GCPD officer who asks too many questions.  Its going to be interesting to see what Winick has in store for him and Selina.  Guillem March continues to draw the title in a very sensual manner.  The job she takes at issue’s end is as inadvisable as ever, but the consequences are certainly electrifying . . .
• Justice League #4 boasts a lot of things: Aquaman, Cyborg, and DARKSEID!!!  If you’ve read my previous reviews, all the previous complaints stand.  Aquaman seems like a douche bag and makes a first impression that would not “make friends OR influence people.”   How IS THIS POSSIBLE?!  His Green Lantern series is legendary because he can write the character better than perhaps anyone alive, his Aquaman is one of the best series out right now, his Flash work was quintessential.  How is he writing such flat, abrasive versions of these characters?  Jim Lee’s art is great and the action is plotted exquisitely.  So here is where I am terrified . . . I love the New Gods.  I love Jack Kirby’s work.  Have I made that abundantly clear?  I am terrified of how badly Johns is going to write such an incredible character.  He’s got the talent.  The aforementioned series prove that.  The four issues of this new Justice League shows how badly he can do it too. And he only has the Great Darkseid in only two issues, which means he’s gonna have to do some cramming which bodes even worse for the proposed presentation.  Scared. Very scared.
  

  Great Darkseid from "Justice League #4" drawn by Jim Lee

• DC Universe Presents: Deadman #4 was an interesting issue.  The entire piece takes place on a roller coast with Boston pow-wowing with the Son of Morning to discover what his trials have all been about.   The story is interesting and the Son of Morning especially so.  He is helpful, but he is still a transcendental being, and he has a price.  However, the clues he gives Boston as well as the insight on Rama Kushna seem to be on the level.  Its so hard to tell who to trust.  Next issue is the last in the Deadman arc and I am a-quiver with anticipation as to how it ends.
• Red Hood and the Outlaws #4 gets to an interesting place.  The first encounter with the Untitled occurs and Starfire gets a very interesting visitor while she waits on the boys.  There is a lot of exposition on both the Untitled and the character called Crux, and there is a lot of action on both those fronts as well.  So far there has been mostly story issues and action issues in the other series of the Reboot, but this one does a great deal of both simultaneously.  I have to say that I am a fan.  Lobdell yet again hits a home run.  Looking forward to seeing the fate of Starfire after this issue.  THAT is the pertinent question . . .
• Nightwing #4 took a break from what it had been doing to host the second half of the Barbara/Dick tête-à-tête that was begun in Batgirl #3.  This time Barbara is the interloper barging in and making a nuisance of herself in the life Dick’s made for himself.  The back and forth between them is very flirtatious, and not fair from his perspective as she has no intention of following up on it, and both know it.  As ever though it is entertaining to watch.  Perhaps down the road they could get back together, but right now her presence is a hindrance to what he is trying to work out with his childhood friend, Raya.   The issue does come through at the very end with a revelation that brings us back to the mystery of Haly’s Circus.
  

  Lightning Lass from "Legion of Super-heroes #4" drawn by Francis Portella

• Legion of Superheroes #4 features the conclusion to the Dominator incursion into U.P. space near the planet Panoptes.  The manner in which writer Paul Levitz has the Legionnaires on Panoptes defuse the Daxamite renegade, who is aptly code named “Renegade”, is very excellent, because established Legionnaire, Element Lad, has the rookie, Chemical Kid, whose powers are similar to his own use them to take out the bad guy, or at least neutralize him.  A rampaging man with the power of Superman and none of his restraint, and Element Lad lets the new kid be the one to do the honors, instilling him with a great deal of confidence.  If he can do that, everything else should be a breeze, right?  The rest of the issue is clean up and patting each other on the back.  All in all, a really great first storyline from the master Legion writer.
• T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #2 was on par with its usual brand of excellence.  When NoMAN wakes up in his new body he interrogates the chief and he and the other agents at base get the full disclosure on the war with Subterraneans, how it began, what was hidden from all of them over the years, and we are told who the real mastermind is behind the calamity in the first issue.  What shocked me was how candid the issue was.  Whereas I thought the advertisement on the cover and the dramatic image accompanying it were just that, dramatics to get people to buy the issue.  Nope.  They straight up tell you what happens at the end on the front cover.  How’s THAT for full disclosure?  But taken into account that I thought they were bluffing, I was still surprised and I can’t wait to see the aftermath . . .

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any of these images and give credit to those whose work they are.

Illustration Credits:

Batman Incorporated: Leviathan Strikes Special: Art by Cameron Stewart & Chris Burnham, Colored by Nathan Fairbairn

Justice League #4: Drawn by Jim Lee, Colored by Alex Sinclair & Gabe Eltaeb, Inked by Scott Williams

Legion of Super-Heroes #4: Art by Francis Portella, colored by Javier Mena & Santiago Arcas

Week 15 (Dec. 14, 2011)

Though the week was bigger, here are the six best stories that came out that week:

• Green Lantern #4 resolves the incredible ending of the previous issue.  We are shown how Hal escapes the Yellow Battery and more importantly we are given a fuller picture of what Sinestro’s return to his homeworld, Korugar, really means.  We were given a small hint with the reception he got from the mysterious Korugaran woman, Arsona, in issue #3.  In this issue, however, we find out who Arsona is and what lies in their past.  This is a “Sinestro” issue.  This issue is, if memory serves, the first time Geoff Johns has dealt with the fallen Lantern’s history on Korugar in depth.  He’s told us what Sinestro did, but not what it meant.  This issue was incredibly telling for the character.  Sinestro could be one of the greatest DC characters of all time.  Being able to see him again in the limelight (Is that a pun? I can’t tell.) is a true treat.  The end of the issue is almost as incredible as the last issues, but certainly equally as tantalizing.
• Batman & Robin #4 picks up with Bruce and Damian held captive and culminates to their escape.  The aftermath is really where the issue thrives.  Very few times will I say that action bits were the boring part, but I’m going to in this instance.  The tension between Damian and Bruce comes to a head in the aftermath and where Tomasi makes it really work is that the reader can understand Bruce’s perspective and respect it, but at the same time Damian isn’t portrayed as an out-and-out psychopath, and we can sympathize with him as well.  He has some really genuine moments of humanity that shine through the petulance and sociopathic behavior.  Its truly a tragedy to see the gulf growing between Bruce and Damian, but that strife is clearly where Tomasi intends to insert the villain who can offer Damian the devil’s deal he so desperately desires.  The question remains as to whether he’ll take it.
• Batwoman #4 is the penultimate issue in the opening “Hydrology” arc.  This issue does many things in concert with one another, and stylistically is a genuine work of art.  We see the consequences of Kate pushing her cousin Betty to the breaking point.  We see Kate utilize her understanding of the underworld to reach a breakthrough in her case.  We see the lengths and dirty tricks Agent Chase is willing to go to to accomplish her mission.  The story is delightful, but as ever the art style is what truly engages a person.  The opening scene juxtaposed beautifully colored panels of Bette Kane kicking ass in her Flamebird costume with black and white ink washes of Maggie and Kate making love.  There is something about the unknowing of Kate amid her cousin going rogue that seems like it will be important down the road.  It makes me hungry for the last issue. I can hardly wait.
  

  Two page spread in "Batwoman #4" co-written and drawn by J.H. Williams III

• Batgirl #4 caps off the Mirror story arc.  By the end I really didn’t care much about the villain or his plot.  The thing that kept the title interesting was Barbara Gordon herself.  This series has been driven in my opinion by the bits with her not in costume, or the introspective moments where she is in costume, but contemplating how far she’s come.  The ending of this issue has an interesting twist that already has me asking several fundamental questions about the continuity.  This title so far is the only Batbook that  deviates from the continuity, as evinced by Barbara not being in a wheelchair.
  

  Superboy at Rockefeller Center in "Superboy #4" art by R.B. Silva

• Superboy #4 is a turning point.  Superboy squares off against those closest to him and allies himself with those that hold his leash.  Revelations come out about Dr. Caitlin Fairchild, aka “Red.”  He is given temporary leave to see the world.  In his journey through the outside world he is given a chance to glance humanity close up and really figure out who he is.  He is angry and resentful, but there is also signs of budding humanity and morality that sprout up from his interactions.  Writer Scott Lobdell is truly taking a raw character and refining him in noticeable, relevant ways, making him more and more of a relatable  figure.  The course is set for a clash with the Teen Titans and I am curious what he will be like after this confrontation.
• The Shade #3 takes the titular character, aka Richard Swift, to Australia.  Something James Robinson does well is the creation of really engaging tertiary characters.  In this issue he introduces an Aborigine stage magician named Diablo Blacksmith, whose appearance is very short, but memorable nonetheless.  The issue is kind of vague in what the Shade is working toward, but definitely interesting.  Shade goes up against some D-List Australian villains and a Aboriginal god called the “Mangar-Kunjer-Kunja.”  One of the things that this issue did well was show the moral ambiguity of the subject.  Pretty much everyone he comes into contact with questions his intentions.  It is important to remember that the Shade was  a villain and never admitted to being anything else.

 

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any of these images and give credit to those whose work they are.

Illustration Credits:

Batwoman #4: Art by J.H. Williams III, Colored by Dave Stewart

Superboy #4: Drawned by R.B. Silva, Colored by Richard & Tanya Horie, Inked by Rob Lean

Week 14 (Dec. 7, 2011)

is is one of three phantom weeks this christmas season where I read the books, but was not able to write reviews at the time.  These may be patchy and I may omit books for brevity sake or just because my aging mind fails me, but here they are: the most important books of those three weeks.

• Action Comics #4 is beginning to look and feel like a Superman comic.  The younger Superman is falling into place, we definitely see Lex Luthor in the light that we have known him, one of Superman’s most formidable villains makes the scene in a truly terrifying assault on humanity, and Steel comes into the mix in both the main story and in a back up feature that supplements the main story.  The title brings a lot of tension to the table by issue’s end and leaves it all up in the air, postponing the ending until March, which has a tantalizing effect, making us crave more.  I want to know what happens after the main story wraps and I have a feeling others do too.
• Detective Comics #4 ends the first arc of writer/artist Tony S. Daniel’s run on the title.  Like his seminal run on its brother title, Batman, the story was tight, dark, and truly twisted.  This arc didn’t highlight one of his greatest strengths, which is mining continuity for real gems.  What it does highlight is Daniel’s true genius in both his roles as writer and artist, and the true affinity he has for the character of Batman in both the same roles.  But right there I think I am still being ungenerous.  His Commissioner Gordon and Harvey Bullock are ON as well.  After seeing the end of this arc I am genuinely awed and awaiting what the master has in store for the Dark Knight next month.
• Red Lanterns #4 does something truly amazing.  After the restoration of Bleez in the Blood Ocean of Ysmault, Atrocitus tries it again with three other Red Lanterns: the ox skulled Skallox, the floating jellyfish-like Ratchet, and the spherical Zilius Zox.  In the former two cases a great deal is revealed about the Red Lantern duo’s past.  Milligan is a  maestro.  Not only are the issues he writes in this series entertaining and action packed, they have INCREDIBLE story and they make you feel and care about what’s going on in fundamental ways.  That’s the mechanics of it.  The issue itself was outstanding and the ending will leave you short of breath . . .
  

  Life and death in "Swamp Thing #4" drawn by Marco Rudy

• Swamp Thing #4 was a story issue, but one that lays the cards on the table and tells the reader what’s really going on here.  Snyder takes all the supposition about this title and Animal Man that I made in the first two months and confirms them, but not only that, he also describes the age old struggle with the the “Rot” that the “Red” and the “Green” have fought since the dawn of life on this planet.   He also shows that the “Red” and the “Green” are intrinsically antagonistic, but like the US and Britain with the Soviet Union, uneasy alliances are formed against greater evils.  The Parliament of Trees also explains the origin of the Swamp Things and why there needs to be a Swamp Thing.  This issue make you WANT to read Swamp Thing like it’s a narcotic.  I am so invested its a borderline illness.
• Batwing #4 takes the reader to the heart of Batwing’s origin.  I have stated before that Judd Winick has a talent for distilling the essentials of a batbook and reinterpreting them into making this book work on the most basic levels.  This issue which DC advertises “Secret Origin Revealed” does exactly that.  Bruce Wayne’s parents are gunned down in front of his eyes and he wages a one man war against crime.  Possibly the most simple, straight forward, well known, and readily understandable premises in comics history.  In this book we have David Zavimbe and his younger brother Isaac, boy soldiers in war torn Africa, made to do horrible things.  The horrors that await both, the choices they make that affect whether each other lives or dies, is very much akin to the trauma that young Bruce endured, and breeds the same ferocity in our hero, David.  Being a child soldier on the run in the African wilderness bred a lot of the ingenuity and skill Bruce got traveling across the world.  The only thing David lacked was the fortune to bankroll his persona, and luckily, Bruce Wayne found him and took care of that.  This issue is quintessential to the success of the series and with it safely out there, the title’s future is ensured, as is our enjoyment.
  

  Batwing faces the future and accepts his demons in Issue #4.

• OMAC #4  is a fluid extension of the previous three.  It stays tight on the form and style of Kirby and tells a very modern, yet nostalgic tale of the classic comic series.  There is very little I can say about this issue that wouldn’t ruin it, but what I can say is that this issue defines the relationship between Kevin Kho and Brother Eye.  In the original series, there was nothing to discuss, because Buddy Blank and Brother Eye worked together like Starsky and Hutch.  In this series, Brother Eye is more cunning, deceptive, and exploiting so the cat and mouse game played between the two in this issue, coupled  with the resulting calamity go a long way toward establishing a unique status quo to separate the two series from one another.  Also the emergence of a familiar face from another rebooted title poses an interesting development in the plot that looks to be a crossover event.
• Green Arrow #4 falls flat.  Keith Giffen of OMAC fame co-writes it with Dan Jurgens, who in turn does the layout, which are finished by the beautiful artwork of George Perez . . . I’m basically describing a dream team here.  These guys are at the height of their careers and are all legends in their own right, and you know what?  All the King’s horses and all the King’s men could not put this piece of shit title together again.  The concept of this series is a gangrenous mass that needs to be amputated.  This is NOT working.  I don’t know if anyone is buying this crap, but Ollie is not what he should be and has been in the past, and its just terrible.  I’m sure you don’t want to listen to me rant, so I will just say that I’ll give it to the end of the arc to get better and then I will cut my losses and leave this series for the vultures to pick at.
• Penguin: Pain and Prejudice #3 continues the dual portrayal of the Penguin with the introduction of a new character to fill the void left with the passing of his mother.  The choice writer Gregg Hurwitz makes in filling this monumental void in the Penguins life solidly backs up what he has been trying to do in establishing one of the major factors contributing to the Penguin’s villainy being his appearance and the prejudices leveled against him because of it.  I’m not really a Penguin fan, but this series makes me want to be.
  

  Birth of a new breed in "American Vampire #21" drawn by Jordi Bernet

• American Vampire #21 ends the “Beast Cave” story arc of the Indian Wars, and as ever was stunning.  Stylistically, it was incredible, and story-wise a great deal was rounded out.  Though the two main characters have met their end already in the series, this lost chapter retroactively adds great depth to both of them, who are still centrally important to the course of the plot.  One thing I thought was awkward though was the characterization of the Indians that are fighting the US Army.  Sure, Jim Book and Skinner Sweet are the protagonists, but Hole in the Sky and his Native American Braves are not portrayed as noble, but more like mad dogs.  Perhaps that is accurate on account of what the US forces did to them, but it felt unflattering to me.  Other than that, I like the issue a lot and I like what the arc has built up even more.  The previous issue’s introduction of the Shashone woman destined to become the first American Vampire and her species was uncanny storytelling.
• The Unwritten #32 starts out with the imperiled Tommy laying in the middle of Antarctica.  His condition is critical and how Gross and Carey choose to have his friends revive him cuts to the heart of the series.  Perhaps the revelation was already come to by the smarter reader, but when its dropped in this issue it elicits dozens of flashbacks to the hints Gross and Carey dropped over three years.  By the end, Tommy, Lizzie, and Richie have a plan, but so does Pullman.  This issue has me wondering whether this truly is the end.

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any of these images and give credit to those whose work they are.

Illustration Credits:

Swamp Thing #4: Drawned by Marco Rudy, Colored by David Baron, Inked by Marco Rudy, Sean Parsons & Michael Lacombe

Batwing #4: Drawned by Chriscross, Colored by Brian Reber, Inked by Ryan Winn

American Vampire #21: Art by Jordi Bernet, Colored by Dave McCaig

Week 13 (Nov. 30, 2011)

Small week this last week, but that was fine cause my financials could uses a rest.  Still there were a couple things that came out that I was really excited about.

• Before the reboot there was a revitalization of a property that DC had acquired, which had been bounced around between six other publishers since the 1960’s, called T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents.  When it first came out I was skeptical, but after reading issue six on a whim I ran out and bought all five back issues and have followed it faithfully to the present day and even read what old material I could get my hands on.  The series ended at the reboot, but there is a six issue limited series that is now coming out by the same writer, Nick Spencer, which is brilliant.  To quickly recap and explain what its about, in the 1960’s a brilliant scientist working for the Higher United Nations built four devices that would grant the wielder with superhuman talents, the detraction however was that those powers granted also would kill the wearer after a certain period of time.  A unit was created called The High United Nations Defensive Enforcement Reserve.  Agents of this program were selected carefully and all had to volunteer knowing the cost of their service full well.  There is a power belt worn by agents codenamed “Dynamo”, a speed-suit worn by agents codenamed “Lightning”, a flightsuit worn by agents codenamed “Raven”, and a mind control helmet worn by agents codenamed “Menthor.”  Another agent who has lived since the beginning of the project and is set apart from the  rest because the unfortunate consequence of his powers is that he CANNOT die is Anthony Dunn codenamed “NoMAN.”  He is immortal and therefore cannot be killed, having instead sacrificed his personality which has died after his numerous deaths and resurrections. The beauty of the new DC series is that it doesn’t reset the series, but rather continue it with new characters building off the mythology of the old tales.  This new limited run does a good job moving on from the deeply personal note on which the first DC run of this past year left off and continuing from that point to a classic plot point of the original Tower Comics series from the 60’s.  Revamps of series often feel tawdry with the cheese of updating things and trying to make them relevant.  Not even Superman in his eponymous title’s new continuity is immune from this trend. Superman is mired in this problem currently.  Spencer found a way to circumvent this and make T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents incredibly relevant while simultaneously holding on to his core excellence.  This first issue delivers and hopefully will be followed by another series after its six issues are up.
  

  Andy Kubert's cover for "Thunder Agents #1"

• Legion: Secret Origin #2 delivers again with a few more Legionnaires popping up and taking their historic places amongst the pantheon of 31st Century super heroes.  As I’ve reported before, this series does an interesting thing by gathering these young heroes together in the background, and in the foreground having the three Security Council members of the United Planets as a Greek Chorus showing us through their interactions why the the Legion are necessary.  Even the council members themselves are symbolic: A human, a Coluan, and a Naltorian. Anissa of Naltor represents prophesy and religion, faith and the perspective of the future.  Zarl-Jax of Colu represents logic, reason, and science, concrete fact and a sense of past through precedent.  The third Mycroft is an aged human who represents the here and now, rooted in the present and possessed of emotion and sense of duty tempered over years of service.  Through the overlapping of these characters and their insight we get the whole picture of the world that gave birth to the Legion of Superheroes and the crises that necessitated their inception.  Really enjoyable if you are a Legion fan.
• Spaceman #1 was a decent book that is written interestingly by Brian Azzarello and draw beautifully by his ofttimes collaborator, Eduardo Risso.  The storyline is hard to follow, however. It follows a mongoloid man with dense bones and muscles that was bred by NASA to be an ideal space traveler for their deep space mission and Martian colonial expeditions, and in half the story he is, but in the other half, disconnected, he’s a vagrant on Earth in a society that seems post apocalyptic and anachronistic from the other half. I’ll read it to the end. Its a limited series, but still I’m undecided.
• The Warlord of Mars offshoot series Fall of Barsoom is on its penultimate chapter with the completion of the Atmosphere Factory, the last dire hour of the White Martian Empire located in the ancient city of Horz, and the hint of the event that will mark the rise of the Red Martian race.  This series is apparently a five issue miniseries and has been outstanding from issue one.  The art is lovely and the story of the Golden Age of Martian culture, like Roman before the Dark Ages on Earth, is quite well done.
• Its silly, and I recognize this, but I got the Green Lantern: The Animated Series issue #0, although it is quite obviously a kids comic.  It was good and definitely gives a taste of what the animated series will be like.  I am looking forward to the Red Lantern Corps as the perennial enemy, although they are clearly skewed from how they appear in the comics. Its understandable as kids are too young to get the moral ambiguity of the Red Lantern Corps and Atrocitus, so I can accept this as a good series.

Here’s to next week and a shit ton of good titles . . .

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any of these images and give credit to those whose work they are.

Illustration Credits:

Detective Comics #6: Art by Wes Craig, Colored by Hi-Fi

Week 12 (Nov. 23, 2011)

November being a five week month, the last week of comics is split over two weeks.  This week had a slew of great books coming out.  I do have a spoiler warning for those who care about my reviews of the incredible series The Unwritten.  This book chronicles historic events and I describe those events in my review.  I feel that the description of historic precedents don’t necessarily capture the wonder and genius of the issue so you would still have to read it.  If you do intend to read that issue in single form or gathered in a graphic novel, please skip over that last review.  So warned, enjoy Week 11:

• Aquaman #3 was another home run this week.  Johns kept the story interesting, but cryptic, dropping some very interesting bread crumbs of plot as the issue progressed.  I am not totally familiar with Aquaman’s past so I don’t know which parts are canon and which are new, however there are several elements that I feel are being left to cultivate storylines past the arc we are in currently.  Aquaman hasn’t been this good or this well written in a very long time.
  

  Whose Chasing Who?

• Dark Knight #3 in my opinion is still really good. I recognize that that is a divisive topic.  This issue, like the others, has what I feel to be the right amount of mystery, action, darkness, and DC mythos allusions.  This issue had a guest star from another title that I thought was kind of cool, although a strange choice. The mystery of the White Rabbit, I am very interested in and I want to know what the deal is behind the new strain of fear toxin she peddles. The artwork is great and the story, in my humble opinion, is top notch.
• Green Lantern: New Guardians #3 continued to be really great. The overarching story is starting to take shape.  It is really interesting to see the shaping of the Green Lantern Corp post War of the Green Lanterns. In all three series they have dropped hints that “something’s rotten in the state of Oa.”  There has been talk of a ‘Third Corps’ and in this Ganthet is acting peculiarly . . . The interactions of the different lanterns last issue was strange, but is starting to regulate.  A good issue, but my one detraction with it and the series so far is how Tyler Kirkham draws Munk, the Indigo-tribesman.  He doesn’t have the same poise as he has in all his other appearances.  Its interesting, but not good in my opinion.  Other than that, I look forward to what happens next.
• The Flash #3 also held to its regular standards and delivered beautifully rendered art that drove a story that was both compelling and grounded firmly in cutting edge science.  That is what a good Flash comic should deliver and this one does it in spades. It revealed a lot of plot and acclimates the series into the Flash universe, introducing the Rogues and some familiar Flash characters. They also make reference to the Central City/Keystone City duality, which to me was the most interesting part. I am curious whether they will keep to the Crisis on Infinite Earths explanation or branch off and do something different. The Editors Note said that all would be explain in issue #6 so that mystery will have to wait February, but until then I’m along for the ride.
  

  Francis Manapul's artwork from "Flash #3"

• Superman #3 was whelming again.  I liked it better than the previous two issues so perhaps progress is being made.  The elemental angle is continuing to be utilized and it seems like they might be trying to introduce a new love interest for Clark.  I hope so, because while Lois is a great character her seeming detachment from Superman and Clark is kind of tedious.  Also Clark’s “rebel without a cause” attitude is kind of annoying too.  Either way, there was something in this that seemed to progress the story so I’ll stick with it a bit longer.
• Fury of Firestorm #3 was surprisingly good this month, going in depth to develop and humanize the enigmatic woman behind the scenes pulling all the strings.  It also does a really good job of characterizing Jason and Ronnie, showing their outermost limits and what they are and are not capable of, and also what Fury is and how he relates to the boys and their new powers.  I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this issue.
• Justice League Dark #3 was a tour de force.  Peter Milligan has set up a maelstrom of conflict in the magical realm of the modern day and each issue so far has been an intricate piece of that puzzle, unwinding the thread toward a dark end that Milligan is great at hinting toward. Many of the characters are not what they seem, and watching as they slowly become aware of one another and even more so as they become aware of each others’ motivations, hidden or otherwise, is nothing short of stunning. This issue packs a lot of surprises and drama.
• Voodoo #3 gets us closer to the revelation of who Priscilla is in the new universe.  Green Lantern, Kyle Rayner, stops in in this issue and breaks open a ring of her fellow aliens who are purported to be an advanced wave of an invasion force.  Ron Marz does a good job slowly revealing this new character, bit by bit and teasing at what kind of alien she is and what her underlying motives are.  From the end of the issue it is seeming that she isn’t a Daemonite, but that she is somehow mixed up with the Daemonites.
  

  Its Von Hammer Time!!!

• The Shade is on its second of twelve issues and it fantastic.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with this character or his writer, James Robinson, I would suggest looking into reading the 90’s series Starman where he introduces the character and the world of which the Shade occupies. The Shade exists outside of Robinson’s Starman mythos, but has none of the class or interest that Robinson’s Shade has.  This series is great. Plain and simple.
• Teen Titans #3 was excellent and is almost complete. The solicitation at the end hints that Superboy will make his appearance in next issue crossing over into this title.  On both fronts I can’t wait.  In the mean time the last two Titans have been introduced, one  new and one almost new. Bunker, the Mexican teen with psionic abilities to my knowledge is brand new to the DCU, and Solstice, the Indian (Subcontinental) girl with light abilities was introduced in the seven issues just prior to the reboot, so she snuck in by the skin of her teeth and I am thrilled.  She was one of the best additions to the Teen Titans title.  These two additions I think cement this title as a must read in the New 52.
• All-Star Western #3 was good as ever.  The course of the issue’s plot was strange and I don’t quite know where they are going with it.  At the end it almost seems like Hex is leaving Gotham before anything gets resolved.  I’m sure that’s not the case, but still it has me wondering. The art and writing are still top notch, despite the strange ending, I am still invested in what Palmiotti, Gray, and Moritat are doing.  They also ended the El Diablo back up feature and it was interesting. Short, but interesting.
  

  A Familiar Face in an Unfamiliar Time

• This month starts Unwritten‘s bimonthly release and this issue was INCREDIBLE giving three thought provoking historic tales that take place across time and the globe to chronicle the path of the literary cabal that has censored and controlled the written word for millenia.  The first takes us to China with the “Burning of the Books and Burying of Scholars” where in 221 B.C. the first Emperor of China moderated thought by burning all books and murdering monks and scribes whose words and thoughts ‘imperiled” the state.  Next we see Johann Gutenberg, inventor of the printing press nearly killed by the Bishop of Mainz for printing a book that taught people to read, an arch heresy against the Church who sought to control the written word.  But in the end he is allowed to live because his apprentices have spread his printing presses and the book to the corners of Europe.  The written word is now outside their control for the time being.  The last shows the career of newspaper political cartoonist Homer Davenport whose work was controlled by William Randolph Hurst and shaped the course of events including starting the Spanish American War.  All sections were beautifully rendered as ever, this one including the Chinese segment done by the illustrious Michael William Kaluta.  This series is stellar and this issue has been in the making for almost three years.  Stunning.

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any of these images and give credit to those whose work they are.

Illustration Credits:

Batman: The Dark Knight #3: Drawned by David Finch, Colored by Jeremy Cox, Inked by Richard Friend

The Flash #3: Art by Francis Manapul, Colored by Brian Buccellato

The Shade #2: Art by Cully Hammer, Colored by Dave McCaig

The Unwritten #31.5: Cover by Yuko Shimizu