Alan Scott...?

Well, the cat is out of the bag apparently.  Recently DC had announced that one of its iconic characters was going to be reintroduced in the new 52 Universe as being gay.  Immediately all manner of speculation began to reign.   All kinds of characters were raised as possibilities.  The odds were shortened, when it was revealed that the newly-outed character would be someone who hadn't already been reintroduced, which cut down on the number of people eligible considerably. 

Still...Alan Scott? 

Well, I don't care what some people say, Alan IS Iconic!  He's the original Green Lantern for one thing.  He's a pround member of the Justice Society of America.  He's fought Nazis, ran a business, and was one of the elder statesmen of the DC Universe.  He was also one of the few people actually able to command respect from both Batman AND Hal Jordan.

I don't mind in the least that Alan is now gay.  What I DO mind...is that they have made him young.  This is the new Earth 2 Alan Scott by the way, and not only is Alan young, but so is Jay Garrett.  It is the callowness that annoys the piss out of me.  DC could make the entire JSA gay, for all I care...but dammit...I LOVED those old farts!  The key word being...OLD.

Comicbookdom is littered with young whippersnappers.  EVERYONE has been reset as being much much younger, with the only exception oddly enough, being the actual YOUNG characters, such as Nightwing and Tim and Jason and such.  It's a little odd.  Not to mention that a whole passel of younger characters have been neatly swept onto a shelf and completely forgotten, such as Donna Troy, Wally and Conner Hawke.

I also am not happy that they have given him a snazzy new costume that is much more Green Lanterny looking.  As in the Corps.  Alan is NOT a member of the Corps.  The Corps would only slow him down!  I miss his puffy sleeves and his giant collar and cape.  It was a completely ridiculous looking outfit...on anyone else that is.  Alan had so much dignity and gravitas that he could make it work.


I assume this means we won't be having Jade or Obsidian around either.  I don't miss Jade in the least.  In fact I can't STAND Jade...but I did like Obsidian. A lot. 

But man...I will regret Alan's puffy sleeves.  And his standing as a Senior Statesman in the Universe.  Now he's just another young punk. 

I so wanted it to be Geo-Force.

EGADS!

Great Googally Moogally, but it is hot!  And humid.  I guess that Summer arrived with a palpable thud over the weekend, and I'm not quite ready for it yet. 

As I am fanning myself, I'm trying to figure out if it is even going to be worthwhile going to the Comic Book Store tomorrow, since it is a fifth week, and I don't think that I am getting anything!  Which actually rather surprises the heck out of me.  A Wednesday without comics?  Unheard of!

So, out of habit, I'll probably go and poke around, and maybe pick up something that I wouldn't ordinarily look at.  Which may be a good thing actually.  Does anyone else have the same problem?

Happy Memorial Day

It's Hot, it's Humid, but by gum, it is Memorial Day.  So drink some lemonade, have a picnic, and go to a parade.



And remember who made all of it possible.

God, I Love This

My photobucket is being weird.  I uploaded this to my Bat File three times, and nothing seemed to be happening.  There are probably esoteric and highly technical reasons for this.  Other than I am a dumbass apparently.

Nevertheless...enjoy!

Reviews

And what a fine week it was, all things considered.  Not a clunker in the bunch.

All Star Western #9

Well, last issue, the Bad Guys were rowing the good Doctor and Jonah out to a ship in the port, so that they could blow it all up.  But Jonah breaks free, and a nice little donnybrook ensues, with Nighthawk and Cinnamon showing up.  It is actually a bit incidental, rounding up the Baddies, and such.  But then one of those pesky Owl types shows up.  Arkham is astonished by the dexterity of the female Owl, but Jonah mentions that he used to be a Chinese wife, and she did all kinds of cool stuff.  Mei Ling!  Man, I hated Mei Ling.  Arkham is simply astonished that someone would actually marry Jonah, and keeps wondering about it...til Jonah manages to dissuade him.

Meanwhile, Wayne wants to help people, and the rest of the Court wants to have different ideas, and Tallulah Black shows up, which is always nice.  Oh, and Nighthawk and Cinnamon are lovers, which is nice.

Good stuff as usual.

Aquaman #9

Well, Arthur is running around trying to figure out why Manta wants to kill everyone, one of his old buddies is trying to get away with some gauntlets, and Mera is pissed as can be, with Shin.  Not a whole lot of stuff went on, but gosh, the art is so pretty.  And also, Arthur apparently killed Black Manta's father, because he thought that Black Manta's father killed off HIS Father.

oops.

This was ok, but man, the art is just so pretty.

Batman Incorporated #1

Holy Pastafazoola Batman!  Grant Morrison is at it again.  And Chris Burnham,'s artwork is somehow between Frank Quietly and Pat Gleason.  Amazing!

We have Bruce and Damian are chasing Bad Guys in an abbatoir, Damian becomes a vegan, and Bat Cow makes a triumphant appearance.  Talia is up to no good, and there is a bounty of Damian.  That seems a bit of a mean sort of thing for ones own mother to do to her son, but hey...Talia and Ra's are strange strange people.

Damian still misses Dick, which was nice.  Bruce have some interesting bonding with Damian,and dang it...this was pretty damned fabulous.

And it has Bat Cow.

Fables #117

Therese is getting cranky.  She likes being Queen, but she's hungry and wants to go home, and her subjects want her to restore all the toys.  Then Dare and his Tiger show up, and are doing their best to rescue her.  Too bad about that whole "flying" thing.  Bigby is tracking them, but realizes that they aren't in their realms. 

Oh, and Buffkin makes it back, which is nice.  Lovely a usual.

Flash #9

Poor Barry, has landed in Gorilla City, and apparently is their messenger, but he can't remember a thing.  Plus Grodd is now the king and he wants to eat Barry and take over the world.  The old Silverbacks, don't particularly like Grodd, and they do their best to help Barry, who fortunately gets his memory back. 

I love the art, I love what Manapul is doing, this is darned good stuff.


Green Lantern: New Guardians #9

Well, we focus on the Blue Lanterns, with St. Walker showing up on Odym.  Too bad that the Reach has invaded Odym and all the Blue Beetles are trying to take over.  Some of the Blue Lanterns are actually losing hope, which of course means that they lose their powers. 

Fatality has realized that ALL of the various Lantern Corps are under attack.  Kyle is bewildered.  The Guardians are being monstrous.  It's actually not a bad story, but man, I really can't stand the art.



Journey Into Mystery #638

The saga of the Disir continues, with all the Asgardians still thinking that they are ordinary citizens, while the Disir have discovered that they can eat anyone or anything that they want.  Chaos, naturally ensues.  And Loki finally DOES come to, and realize who he is.  He manages to get Hela to realize who she is, and after that, everyone manages to go after the Disir. 

And then we find out exactly WHY the Disir are so messed up, and really, you do feel a bit sorry for them.  They were Bor's handmaidens, but were basically seduced by Sigurd and his merry band, thus violating their oaths of chastity to Bor.  They get caught, and Bor puts a curse on them, because Bor is not a nice God. 

But they can break the spell, either by killing Sigurd or by...marrying him. 

Haw! 

This is fabulous.

Oh God, Tuesday!

Tuesday is even more deadly than Monday.  And it's raining, and I need something to lift my spirits.  Thank You Hal Jordan!



Now this particular scan, takes place right after Arisia has joined the Corps, and quite frankly, it freaks me out just a bit.  There are ways of welcoming new members, and this ain't it.  Would Hal go up to a MALE Alien and grab him in a bear hug?  Call him "Little Brother"?  

Probably...not.

It gets even skeevier when you remember what happens after all of this greeting stuff.  Arisia develops a severe crush on Hal, who eventually notices her after she uses he powers to artificially age herself, and gets a lot hotter.  Oh...Hal. 

Now of course, it has been retconned that she was ALWAYS older, and that her planet revolves differently from Earth, so she is actually 200 years old or some such twaddle.  Moosepoop.  She's still young according to her species.  Fortunately she IS grown up now, but has apparently gotten over her crush.  Good thing!

Oh...It's Monday

After a stunningly gorgeous weekend, not to mention no fewer than THREE fife and drum parades, it is back to work, and a chance to rest my poor poor feet.

But I still don't have a thought in my head.

And you know what THAT means!

Yes, it's time to dust off the old Hal pictures.



Heh.  You can't see Hal's beautiful buns in this particular scan...but that giant banana does seem to be glomming onto his...other assets.  I also love the sound effect.  "SHPLAP"  really does sound like a giant yellow banana humping Hal.

Oh Comics!

Green Lantern Corps #9

Well!  Things just got a little crazy in a hurry, didn't they?

When we left John Stewart last issue, he was just hanging out with Guy at Warriors, making bridges out of toothpicks and being moody.  Guy had been promoted by the Guardians, which was making him a bit giddy, but he wasn't rubbing it in...except maybe to Salaak.  Then the Alphas showed up, and they are feeling awfully cranky.  And they WANT John Stewart!

Naturally, Guy isn't having any of THAT shit going down in his nice bar, and all of the OTHER Lanterns are pissed as well.  This doesn't stop the Alphas from throwing their collective weight around and demanding John's surrender.  And then they show some scenes of John snapping poor Krrt's neck, which REALLY makes Guy mad.  Nobody believes it...until John breaks down and admits what he did and why.  There are various reactions from all of the gathered Lanterns, from disbelief, to outrage, to confusion, till Guy tells them all to back the hell off, and John agrees to go with the Alphas.

Guy immediately heads off to confront the Guardians, naively thinking that his new status actually will mean something.  The Guardians play dumb, saying that they can't intervene, and that there isn't anything they can do, which is codswallop, and Guy rightly enough, calls them out on it.  He also notices that the Earth Lanterns are the ones being picked off, which doesn't sit really well with him either.  They tell him to keep control of the other Lanterns and send him on his way, but he isn't happy at all.

The Guardians on the other hand, are delighted that their machinations seem to be going so well, although one of them notices that Guy's perceptions are surprising and that apparently he IS smarter than he looks, so they might have to marginalize him a little sooner than they thought.  God, they're so...so...EVIL!

Meanwhile a bunch of Lanterns have busted into the Crypts, and Morro is outraged that Vath wants to destroy the statue of Krrt, who committed the ultimate sin of being a wuss...at least in Vath's opinion.  Guy shows up and tells them to chill out and also points out that Krrt wasn't the ONLY Lantern who was ever afraid and that perhaps the rest of them shouldn't be throwing stones.  They sulk and grumble a bit, but do see the reason of his words, and stomp off, .  Really, Guy is just SHINING in this issue.

So, we cut to the trial, and John very calmly and patiently explains what happened, and his motives, and all.  He also notices that the only scans that the Alphas have, show him breaking Krrt's neck, and while that is true, what happened to the hours and hours of torture that lead up to that moment, and how the heck did they even access that moment, when none of their rings were even working?  A fair point, I might add.  When one of the Alphas asks if anyone has anything to say in John's defense, Guy hops right up and launches into what John calls  a helluva filibuster...for all the good that it does. 

Later, John is in his cell and Guy is outside, and they are talking.  Guy is still just outraged, although John seems fairly philosophical about the whole thing.  At this point, Guy tells John how he was all set to kill Sodom Yat, when Arisia spoiled his shot, which is a nice touch, since that happened before the War of the Green Lanterns,and I wasn't sure that it was still in continuity.  Which means that Zardor and Yat are still floating around out there...somewhere.  So Guy was almost in John's position, and he can understand what it is that he's going through.  Then Voz shows up and tells them that the verdict is in.

Guy figures he's going to be a rap on the knuckles...but oh, it is more than that.  John is sentenced to Death.

Sheesh! 

May I just say that Guy is written beautifully in this issue, and so is John.  John seems resigned, and remorseful, but he's calm and stoic, which is more or less his nature.  Still, I don't imagine that he's particularly happy.  Guy is volatile, and angry and stunningly loyal.  What I really don't understand, is WHY the Guardians are going through all of these motions?

They've decided that they want to stamp out all emotion and that the Green Lantern Corps is no longer what they need.  So...why don't they just...disband it?  They did that before, when they went off to make sweet sweet love with the Zamarons.  If they all got together and told the Corps that they appreciated their services, but that they were no longer on the payroll, what could the Corps do?  Instead, they are pitting them against each other, spreading rumors, going around killing innocents, and just in general, being complete jackasses.  EVIL jackasses.  Have they all been possessed by Parallax? 

I can hardly wait to find out!

New Books

I guess I'll take a breather from my self-pity party, sobbing about glorious comical days of yore, by reviewing the NEW books.  And really, they are pretty good.

Batwoman #9

Dang, the art in this is just so pretty.  Kate continues to work with Cameron, and it is more of the same, but it IS good stuff. 

Blue Beetle #9

I read the first and second issues of the NEW new Blue Beetle, and decided that Jaime, Part II was Not For Me.  However, since Kyle is on the cover, how could I resist?  For some reason, Jaime is in New York, when Kyle, followed by Glomulus and Bleez show up, and they naturally have a bit of a misunderstanding, and Jaime inadvertently saves Kyle from a bounty hunter, and then advertently saves him from the same bounty hunter by finding his lantern.  Exactly why Kyle's lantern even still works after being spanked by the Guardians is a question that I cannot answer. 

Kyle is actually written well, which makes sense, because Tony Bedard is doing his book.  There are a few moments of levity when Bleez is sitting on Jaime and he insists to the Suit, that he is NOT aroused.  But the whole issue of the deep and abiding enmity between the Reach and the Lanterns is barely brought up, which is a dissapointment.

Not terrible.  But dang, I still miss old Jaime.  See, I KNEW I could wallow in some nostalgia!

Birds of Prey #9

Well, it ends up crossing over into the whole Owls thing going on in the Bat Books, which I suppose makes the Birds honorary Bats.  Or something.  They are having quite a bit of trouble with their Talon, so it is nice that Batgirl shows up and tells them how to defeat it.  Too bad it doesn't work.  Fortunately, Poison Ivy is still around, and saves their collective butts.


Green Lantern Corps #9

Well, the @#$% has well and truly hit the fan!

Justice League #9

Some guy is dying from some disease, and there is no cure, so he shoots his nice old doctor and decides to go after the Justice League. 

Bwhahah?

Somehow this half-dead guy is able to put the fear of god into a whole bunch of criminals, while simultaneously getting all kinds of information about the JLA, not to mention, torturing Steve Trevor. Incidentally, the press seems to be making mock of the aforesaid Steve Trevor, asking him how it feels to be dumped by Wonder Woman, which seems a bit personal and rude. 

Hal and Barry have some very nice banter about which one of them gets to play Good Cop/Bad Cop.

It's...ok.  There are some nice small character moments, but in the main, I'm not really buying this Graves guy as such a major Bad Guy. 

The backup feature with young Billy Batson is nice.  He's still pretty pissed about having to hang out with teh other kids, but he does come to their rescue at school, beating up some bullies.  Naturally, he is hauled in to see the prinicipal, and she crumbles under the abuse of the rich snotty father of the rich snotty bullies. 

The Shade #9

Now this was lovely.  Art by Jill Thompson, and a Tale of Times Past, which I ALWAYS love.  The Shade is hanging out in a nice opium den in Paris as he strikes up a conversation with  a young wastrel, who, it turns out has quite the tale to tell.  His old buddy summoned up a homonculus who ended up being a bit more than he could handle, and the said homonculus is going around committing all kinds of atrocities and then going back and telling young Caldecott about it. 

Shade decides to come to the rescue, and dispatches the homonculus rather neatly.  Turns out that the Shade is also young Caldecott's grandfather, and he has a rather sweet moment looking at his wife from afar.

Beautiful beautiful stuff.


Wonder Woman #9

And speaking of beautiful, he isn't Cliff Chiang, but Tony Akins does a servicable job of drawing this issue of Wonder Woman.  Diana, having been shot in the heart by Hades, with Eros's own Love Guns, is being primped for her forthcoming marriage.  The primper turns out to be none other than Persephone, who isn't in very good shape. 

Hades invites the whole family to the nuptuals, but only a few of them are coming.  The Greek Gods seem to have family...issues.  Strife and Ares have a fun moment, and she keeps popping up all over the place.  Hephaestus and Eros and Lennox all go, although Aphrodite declines.  And then Diana comes out, all dolled up, having been told to behave by what I presume to believe are the Erynies. 

She looks fantastic and is telling Hades that he's just the ginchiest, but he's not necessarily buying it.  Hades does seem to be something of a Gloomy Gus.

Good Stuff.

I Miss Ted!

Whoa!  Ted Kord being awesome!  Amanda Waller being fat!  Great art, great storytelling, great characters.

We could USE some of that.

More Old Stuff

I am glad that they brought back the JLI.  Really, I am.  I missed them so.  And for the most part, I am enjoying what is being done, although killing off Gavril right off the bat, and dumping Fire, Ice and Vixen into the hospital so that they aren't a part of anything is a little bit annoying.

Nevertheless. 

Remember these people?



I do.  And I miss them.

I Need Cheering Up

I'm still in a bit of a snit from my last post.  So I thought that I would take the opportunity to post some of the characters and some of the reasons that I love Comics so much.

As you all know, I'm not a huge Bat Fan, although I have to admit that he's been growing on me.  Mainly though, I like his supporting cast.  But gosh, I do love those OLD Batman books, where God Knows What was going on.

Like this.


I don't know what this is from, I don't know what they are talking about, but boy...I sure want to!

Dear DC

I just finished watching Green Lantern and Young Justice on television, on this beautiful Saturday morning.  I like Green Lantern and I'm actually starting to like Young Justice a lot more.  It had Captain Shinypants on it, and  they actually mentioned Guy!  Didn't show him, but they mentioned him. 

But what really caught my eye was one of the shorts that played during the commercials, wherein they pondered the true meaning of "Super Friends".  It had all my favorite lesser characters, who pointed out that Batman won't take them to the airport, or feed their fish, and what is the real meaning of friendship, if Superman won't lend you a couple of bucks?

I laughed of course.  And then, I choked up a little bit, because they showed Ted Kord, and Booster Gold, and Plastic Man, and ALL of the Flashes, and Hawkman and Hal and Kyle. Kyle!  And Ralph Dibny and a ton of other characters, ALL of whom I miss terribly.  And it hit me. 

WHY CAN'T I READ ABOUT THEM ANYMORE?

DC, you have a huge stable of fabulous characters, that you aren't even using.  You have either "shelved" them, or killed them off for no good reason other than for a brief moment of shock.  Actually, killing people off is no longer a shock.  It is a shock if you manage NOT to kill somebody for a change! 

You created these characters, told stories about them, and made us care about them.  So why do you chose to slap me in the face, by disposing of them?  Yes, I know they aren't "real".  But you can say that about any literary creation.  But that doesn't change the fact that people remain fans.  You are raining on my parade and I am getting quite annoyed.  I've mentioned this a few times in the past, but nobody seems to be listening.

I understand that I as a middle-aged woman am NOT your target audience.  I admit that I deserted you for a few years while I was spawning, but I DID come back, and not only did I come back, but I spent a crapload of money buying all those back issues.  For that matter, I spend a crapload of money on your products every single goddamned week.  It's starting to add up. 

I am not a 20 year old male.  I'm better.  I've probably got  a LOT more money than a 20 year old male, who is blowing through his college loans, that he'll never be able to pay off.  I'm solvent.   I have disposable income, and I am more than happy to throw those dollars at your company.  I not only buy comic books, I buy action figures. I buy Wonder Woman Barbies.  I buy T shirts.  I blog about you and give you free publicity.  I tell everyone at work about how fabulous you are, and then they go out and attend your movies.

And lately, it feels as though I am giving a whole lot more than I am getting.

I want my continuity back.  I have been mostly satisfied with the recent reboot, some of the books have been excellent.  But that doesn't mean that I want to give up decades of continuity.  I spent a LOT of time and effort learning that continuity.  I ENJOY that continuity.  And most of all, I enjoy so many of those characters that you have seen fit to sideline for no good reason. 

Those kids that you are trying to reach on the Saturday morning cartoons?  The loved the Brave & the Bold.  They like the shorts.  They want to read about those characters too.  You NEED those kids.  And frankly, you need us old farts too.  We are the ones who love all that Silver Age stuff.  The average 20 year old male, only seems to want to see carnage and boobs.  I am referring of course to the average 20 year old male...not the intelligent and handsome ones that read my blog. 

So...I am asking you nicely.  Please bring back the REAL DC Universe.  Bring back Ted Kord, and Ralph and Sue, and either of the Rocket Reds, and G'nort, and Hawkgirl, and Peej and the Justice Society.  Bring back the original Doctor Polaris and Carface and the Secret Six, and Hippolyta and all of the Amazons, and Wally and Linda and their kids, and Bart, and Cass and Stephanie, and Oracle and Zinda, and LOIS LANE for God's sake!

Does everything have to be so bloody and dark all of the time?  It's comics, there is fighting.  I understand that.  I love a good kick to the face.  But I want to see characterization too.  And a PLOT once in a while.  Good villains, and a good story and good art...is that too much to ask for?  And stop breaking up marriages and romances!  Sheesh!

Well, I've said what is on my mind, and I don't imagine it will have much effect.  But still...since I am still sending a goodly amount of money your way every week, every month, every year...it would be nice to feel that I'm getting some return other than a kick in the teeth.  Once in a while.

Green Lantern #9

Well!

I hope that you have all been reading Green Lantern, which has been following the adventures of Hal and Sinestro, as the madcap pair takes on the Indigo Tribe.  It has long been rumored that there is more to the Indigos than meets the eye...and in this issue, we do discover exactly who they are, and how they got that way.

Boy howdy do we discover!

Sinestro had been taken and indoctrinated into the Indigo Tribe, and we have a lovely flashback of the first time that he met Arin Sur, Abin's sister, and his one and only true love.  And how Sinestro felt that he had to take over Korugar in order to save it, and how she disagreed, and he wanted to get her off planet, and how a kid wearing a bomb put the kibosh on that plan...  The scene of him cradling Arin's body as the debris falls all around them is simply exquisite.

Then he opens his eyes, and says..."nok".

And tells Hal that he's sorry for everything that he's done to him.  Which just creeps the hell out of Hal, who decides that he's beating feet out of there, and runs off to find the Indigo battery. 

Meanwhile, the Guardians have found poor old Starstorm, and are demanding the whereabouts of the Book of Black.  Starstorm doesn't have a clue, and is shaking in his boots.  The Guardians decide he's useless and disintegrate him.  The Guardians are seriously messed up. 

Hal has found a blue cave and a tiny blue man, who is also somewhat startled to find a Green Lantern.  His name is Natromo, and he gladly tells Hal everything that he wants to know.  Such as how Abin Sur and he discovered the power of the Indigo light, and how they harnessed it and what they were going to use it for.  Mainly, they were going to use it on the Guardians after Blackest Night, since Abin foresaw them going batshit crazy, and figured that the Indigo Light of Compassion was the only thing that would bring them to their senses.  But he wanted to try it out first, and they used all the most wretched villains in the universe as guinea pigs.

And it worked!  Until Hal opens his big fat mouth and says that Abin Sur is dead, so Natromo decides that its all over, and destroys the Indigo Battery!  Hal is pretty much taken aback by this, couldn't they at least have discussed it first?    Then Sinestro and all the rest of the Indigos show up and Sinestro comes to his senses.  Unfortunately...so do the rest of them.

Oops.

Well!

All kinds of things have been revealed, and in his usual fashion, Geoff Johns makes it all seem so plausible.  But I honestly had no clue that the whole thing was for the benefit of the Guardians.  And how is it that Abin Sur was able to foresee what was going to happen?  Will Sinestro and Hal be able to use the Indigo light on the Guardians during the inevitable coming war?  How will they dodge the Guardians who are looking for them...well, for Sinestro at any rate? 

I can hardly wait to find out.

Reviews for a Fabulous Week

Good Gosharootie.  What a lovely lovely week this was!

Batgirl #9

This is a part of the whole Owls crossover going on in the Bat books, and I have to say that I'm enjoying the heck out of it.  I'll never quite look at owls the same way again, that's for sure. 

We begin with a flashback to World War II, with school girls making balloons in Japan.  It is poignant, and you realize in a few pages, just what this has to do with the present, and the present is rather chilling.  The word has gone out from Alfred in the Batcave that the Owls have declared war on Gotham, and the Talon assassins are going after specific targets, and that it is up to the various members of the Bat Clan to do their darndest to save them.  So naturally, Babs is in the thick of it.

To complicate matters more, James Gordon is also being targeted, not for death, but if he doesn't want anything to happen to Babs or his friends, he had better just sit on his hands at the Police Station.  He tries...but of course he can't, and goes to turn on the Bat Signal, except that they anticipated his actions, and it is actually the OWL Signal!

There is more of course, but I'm not going to spoil it any further.  Suffice it to say, this is a very good issue...the best one that Gail Simone has done yet with this particular book.


Batman #9

Oh this is good.  So very very good.  The Talons have attacked Bruce at the Manor, and he's fed up and not going to take it anymore.  Alfred is relatively safe in the Batcave and sends out the word, while Bruce is suited up in a new Iron man style Bat suit.  He's also figured out the weakness of the Talons, and is having Alfred lower the temperature in the Cave, so that the Talons can't regenerate. Also the Dinosaur steps on a few of them.  And the Bats come back. 

The art is beautiful, the writing is gripping, and it's just really really good.  Also the backup story is told by Alfred's father, who was the butler to the Wayne's before him, which I think is a retcon, but it is also a very good story.

Twelve thumbs up!


Batman & Robin #9

Bats isn't in this so much, since he's running around trying to stop the Owls from decimating Gotham, and Robin is more or less on his own, and trying to save a Major Burrows, who is the Adjutant General of Gotham, and currently occupied with running training sessions.  The Owls attack and Robin swoops in to try and save the day...which isn't easy when you are only a kid, and all these trained soldiers aren't taking you very seriously.  They do end up taking him a bit more seriously when he saves the Major's star-spangled behind. 

Naturally he's attacked by a Talon, this one dates from the Revolutionary War, and has a very personal reason for wanting to kill the Major.  Robin takes him out...rather nastily, but rather satisfyingly as well.  The art is by Pat Gleason who always knocks it out of the partk, and Tomasi writes a rather visceral and terrifying story.

Great stuff.

Demon Knights #9

Now we have come to the beginning of a new story arc, and our madcap bunch are all together again, more or less intact, and I do like this book.  A lot.

Merlin is apparently dead, which makes a lot of people very upset in various ways.  The rulers of Alba Sarum aren't particularly enthralled with the Knights, but are supposed to become the New Camelot, which they can't really do, if Merlin is pushing up daisies.  So they hire the crew to figure out what is going on.  Xanadu realizes that he's not actually dead, he smells of roses, which is nice, so they decide to haul his fragrant corpse off to Avalon. 

Naturally there are all kinds of machinations going on from various members, and it all looks to be quite exciting.  A good point to jump on.


Faires

Well, Lumi the Snow Queen has recaptured Ali Baba and Sleeping Beauty, but she's being surprisingly civil about it all, even listening to the Imp tell the story of Sleeping Beauty's christening, and giving them a nice feast.  Granted, the feast has some nice Goblin entrails ,but that's a quibble.

After supper, she sends the two human fables off to bed, and the Imp proceeds to ask her what exactly it is that she is up to, and why hasn't she disembowled them all yet?  The Imp, whom I find to be rather adorable also has his own agenda going...naturally.  It turns out that Lumi simply loves hearing stories, so she's decided to spare them...for a little while at least. 

This book is picking up nicely after a rather slow start.


Green Lantern #9

Oh...My...God!


Journey Into Mystery #637

This is currently crossing over with New Mutants and Exiled, and by Gad, it is pretty good.  FAbulous in fact. 

The Disir are up to no good, Dani is still a Valkyrie, and Sigurd has put everyone under a spell.  Well, at least all of the Asgardians are under a spell, they all think that they are normal people, who live in Broxton, and are going about their dull and humdrum everyday lives.  Thor is a mechanic, Volstagg runs a bakery but keeps eating all the donuts, Loki is still a kid who likes to play dungeons and dragons or whatever...Hela is into recycling and it is all just absurd...and rather hilarious. 

The New Mutants realize that something weird is going on, and keep trying to convince the Asgardians of their true identieis, but it isn't working, until they find Loki, and they do manage to break the spell..with him at any rate.  Then they are stuck with him, because he is apparently a HUGE X-Men fan, and the try to get Sigurd to end the spell but he doesn't know how, and doesn't really care, because the Disir are all taken care of, and that's all he cares about.

Except that it is never that easy of course.

Wonderful.


Resurrection Man#9

Poor Mitch.  He ends up being killed by Deadshot and the rest of the Suicide Squad, because Amanda Waller wants him.  This is at distinct odds with the Body Doubles and their agency and they start to squabble over his dead body, which turns out to be a mistake, because it gives him time to regenerate, and he becomes liquid metal and just tears through them, and encases Deadshot, so that he can infiltrate the Suicide Squad and get to Kim, whom he thinks has been captured.  She is actually working with Waller, but she's has had a change of heart, and seems to be genuinely on his side.  Of course it's never that easy.

Good stuff again.

My goodness what a wonderful week!

Ergh

Well, it is new Comics Day.  This is always a reason to rejoice.  However, first I have to go to Motor Vehicle, and turn in my old plates, and stuff.  Going to Motor Vehicle is...NOT a reason to rejoice.

But at least I'll have books to read afterwards.

Avengers Anyone?

Yes, yes, I am probably risking my nerd cred, but I haven't been to see the new Avengers movie yet.  I probably will go.  Heck I haven't even seen the Captain America movie yet.  I HAVE seen the Thor movie, and it was a dandy. 

However, I have it on good authority, that Chris Helmsworth doesn't take his shirt off in the Avengers movie...and well...I'm not sure if it is going to be worth my while then.  On the other hand, I do love Tom Hiddleston as Loki, so perhaps it would be worth it after all.

Has anyone been to see it and how many times so far?

What The Heck

It's a gloomy and slightly soggy Saturday, and I haven't a thought in my head.

So, in honor of Power Girl, here is Amanda Conner.



I am awfully glad that she is back.  A bit.  Kind of.  But man, I do miss her old costume.  Amanda gave her the most fabulous pair of boots ever.

Thursday's Reviews of Wednesday's Comics

An...interesting week, to say the least.

Action Comics #9

Grant Morrison and Gene Ha team up this month to present an...Elseworlds tale of some kind?  Actually, this has to do with Earth 23, which has a very nice Superman, who is also the President of the United States, and he seems to be having this whole love/hate thing going with Lex Luthor.  Then Lois, and Clark show up from another earth, and it turns out that they created the idea of Superman, and it was taken from them, and Clark is in bad shape, and Jimmy is dead, and it is all rather convoluted of course, but fun in that weird sort of Morrison way. 

I'm slightly confused...but still entranced.


Earth 2, #1

Oh good grief.  I had rather high hopes for this, I really really did.  I like James Robinson when he's "on" and I simply adore Nicola Scott.  I figured that with the Justice Society there, that perhaps this would be the "nice" version of Earth, maybe having some of my favorite heroes who are dead and gone in the current 52 continuity.

Well...so much for THAT idea.  Batman and Superman and Wonder Woman are all fighting against Parademons, and  Apokolips, and Lois is dead, and the Amazons are dead, and then the Big Three are dead, and  even the Greek Gods are dead, and Alan Scott and Jay Garrett are young and stupid, and Robin and Supergirl get blown into the 52 earth, and it is violent and depressing as hell. 

I love Nicola Scott, I really do...but I'm not sure that I can stand to have my sensibilities lacerated on a monthly basis with this book.

Huntress/Power Girl #1

And speaking of Robin and Supergirl, it turns out that Helena Wayne was Bruces' Robin,and she becomes Huntress after getting accidentally tossed into OUR Universe along with Kara, who becomes Power Girl.  They also incredibly casually and incredibly callously discard the entire character of Helena Bertinelli.  Thanks  Guys.  I LIKED Helena Bertinelli. 

George Perez is drawing our new dynamic duo in the present, and Kevin Maguire is drawing them in flashbacks, and pardon me for saying that I love those flashbacks something fierce. 


I'm not quite sure what to think of this book yet...I guess I'll give it a few more issues to hook me.


Justice League International #9

Well, the team has been blown up, and half of them are in the hospital and Gavril is dead (?) and then the remaining members are attacked by...O.M.A.C!  Or as Guy says..."What the hell is an O.M.A.C.?"  Unlike his portrayal in JLA, Batman is right there helping out, and has even given the team Batwing, which is nice of him.  Booster is trying to figure out what is going on, and Guy has had about all he can take,  and goes all Green Iron Man on OMAC's ass.  He even uses a giant green glowing hammer to smite him. 

Heh.  Wink wink, nudge nudge.

Then, to get the fight off of the street, they all fall into a sewer, which completely grosses  poor Godiva out, and really, who can blame her?  Then OMAC suddenly comes to his senses and asks for help, and as they are trying to figure things out, they end up having to go and handle an attack in Paris of all places.  Guy whips up a handy dandy green ship to get them there.  It is awfully handy having a Green Lantern around, and they even take OMAC with them.

It turns out of course that this is all the work of the Bad Guys, and some chick was mind-controlling OMAC..   So they get to Paris, and who should show up but Firestorm and Friends.  I guess I'll have to go and read the Firestorm book to find out what is going on! 

I liked this.  It has Guy being awesome.

Red Lanterns #9

This book seems to be blowing hot and cold for me.  I'm not enthralled, but I am curious to see what is going on.  Abyssmus seems to have poisoned the Red Battery, and Atrocitus is pissed, and Rankkor is confused and Bleez is conniving.  Also, most of the Red Lanterns seem to be dying off, which is not necessarily a bad thing.  And for some reason, Bleez is really mad at the Star Sapphires, which will probably degenerate into a cat fight.

Swamp Thing#9

Woohoo!  Now that is a great book!  A bit disgusting here and there with the visuals, but Alex manages to defeat the Rot, and save Abby!  But there is a worm in the bud, and his name is Arcane.  I do love this book.

Exiled, #1

We seem to be having a crossover with the New Mutants and Journey Into Mystery, the latter of which is about the only Marvel book that I am currently reading with any regularity.  Thor is back, which is nice, and the Disir are also back, and Danni is still apparently a Valkyrie, and Hela shows up and I think that Mephisto has a crush on Amara, and it is a bit confusing, but fun in a strange sort of way.

And I still love Loki's hel puppies.