Reviews of Wednesday's Books

Well...that was sort of a blah week. Nothing terrible, but nothing that REALLY set me on fire either.

Let us begin with Neal Adams' Batman: Odyssey #5. I'll come right out and say it...I don't have a CLUE as to what exactly was going on in this issue. It has Talia, and Deadman, and a bit of Aquaman, and the Joker, and it all LOOKS quite fabulous, but as for a plot...I couldn't even begin to recap what was going on. Oh, and Manbat was in there too, for some reason.

It is an incoherent mess, but I don't care, 'cuz it's pretty, and because I simply love Batman being incompetent. There...I've said it.

Batman & Robin #17 was a bit of a letdown after the glorious finale of the last issue. It was SUPPOSED to be Peter Tomasi whom I adore, and Pat Gleason whom I adore even more, but there was a problem with the scheduling, so they won't be starting for a couple more months. This was by Paul Cornell, and Scott McDaniel, and it was perfectly...adequate. Just a little on the dull side after all the insanity that was Grant Morrison.

Batwoman #0 was pretty good. Gorgeous artwork of course, courtesy of J.H. Williams. This was a bit of an introduction, with the REAL Batman back on the scene, he's busy scoping this new player out. He goes to great lengths to determine her true identity, and spends some more time deciding that she actually seems to know what she's doing, and that she seems to be awfully cranky for some reason. Being Batman, he decides that this makes her a good crimefighter. I'm looking forward to the next issue with great anticipation.

Green Arrow #6. Well, Ollie finally gets in to see the new Queen who took over his company and is doing its best to take over Star City. Being Ollie, he naturally decides to start angsting in the middle of a fight, and has to go scampering back to his forest. Again, not terrible, although I'm getting a little bit tired of Ollie's whining.

Gotham City Siren #117. Catwoman has been kidnapped in an attempt to learn the true identity of Batman. Zatanna and Talia show up, and go after her, along with Ivy and Harley, and there is a fair amount of fighting and hallucinating going on. In the end, they decide that possibly the only way to keep Selina safe, is to wipe her memory, so she won't know who Bruce is, anymore.

Well, crap.

Justice League: Generation Lost #14. Not a bad issue. It concentrates on Captain Shinypants, who is actually rather tolerable, as he once again gets thrown into the future by the absorbtion of all of Magog's energy from the last issue. And at least Winick isn't savaging Ice's history for a little bit, which is a relief. The art is pretty, Aaron Lopresti does quite a nice job. This time, it's only l00 years into the future, and Power Girl is there, along with Batman, as played by Damian, who may be old, but keeps taking refreshing dips in a Lazarus Pit. J'onn is there too, looking a little world-weary, and a new Blue Beetle and a new Black Canary, and a clone of Plastic Man, and the Creeper, and a new Red Hood. They're all still trying to stop the ruin of the world. Superman is hanging around, but he's off fighting off the Green Lantern Corps for some reason. Capt. Atom is highly confused by all of this and really, who can blame him? But he does manage to get some interesting help, in that as he's being transported back into the past, he has to save Wonder Woman from Max.

Payback IS a bitch!

Justice Society of America #45. Once again, I don't really know exactly what the hell is going on. Jay and Alan are fighting Nazis for some reason, and Alan is a real jerk. And then Jay ends up being appointed mayor of some town named Monument Point for reasons that I am unsure of. I...did not like this. At all. Where is my bright and shiny JSA? My loveable old farts and wide-eyed kids, out showing the Justice League how things are REALLY done? This was awful.

But on a bright note, we do have Thor: The Mighty Avenger #6 by Roger Landridge and Chris Samnee, and it was delightful. Alas, in their infinite wisdom, Marvel has once again decided to pull the plug on a witty and charming book, due to apparent low sales. What is WRONG with you people? This is great stuff!

Thor still hasn't clue as to why he can't get back into Asgard, and fights Heimdall, who turns into Fin Fang Foom for some reason, it really doesn't matter, and it's all fun.

Man, I'm going to MISS this book when it goes.

Dammit!

I hope you all enjoyed your comics AND your turkey.