Lots and Lots of Reviews

Holy guacamole, that was one heck of a week, especially at the end of the month!  It actually took me a while to read all my books!  Not that that is a bad thing.

Aquaman #16

And the crossover with the Justice League continues, as Orm banishes Arthur and most of the League to the Mid Atlantic Trench.  He was nice enough to wrap Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman up in nice little pressure-resistant packages, which was thoughtful of him.  Naturally, Batman is the one who is awake and actually working with Arthur.  He also has the grace to apologize...sort've...for letting things get so out of hand.

Naturally...they are not alone, those nasty nasty Dwellers that were in the very first arc, are back, and really pissed.  Meanwhile, Cyborg is hunting for alternate members so that things topside don't go to hell in a handbasket.  For some reason that I don't really understand, they have to put him under and rip his lungs out, in order to upgrade his system or something.  It's all very traumatic, I guess.  Hawkman and Green Arrow and Vixen and some other people are running about fighting Atlanteans. 

Eventually Diana and Superman wake up, but they aren't of much help. And Vulko is very very angry.  That's quite a twist there at the end too. 

This is actually starting to get my attention.  At least the Justice League isn't acting actively stupid like in their own book.

Batman and Robin Annual #1

Dagnabit, I loved this.  Peter Tomasi writes a...dare I say it...fun story.  I would have loved to have had Pat Gleason on the art, but Ardian syaf does a very nice job as well.

Damian is feeling his oats, and arranges for a Treasure Hunt of sorts, in order to bond with dear old Dad.  He leaves a video message for Bruce, and sends Bruce and Alfred to London, and henceforth throughout Europe, all in search of things that are meaningful to him...mainly from his parents.  It's rather touching in a way.

In the meantime of course, Damian is NOT in Europe, but scampering about Gotham City along with his dog Titus, dressing up in his version of the Batsuit, and solving crime and beating people up and having one heck of a good time.  He's not quite as clever as he thinks he is, since Bruce does manage to figure things out, but they each let the other one think they've gotten away with something.  It's adorable, frankly.

Alfred also has what appears to be a wonderful time in London, running into some old friends from his Thespian days, not to mention a certain former lady friend.  He even performs in a production of Two Gentlemen of Verona, although Damian is less than enthralled. Bruce sternly tells him to suck it up and praise Alfred, who then comes stomping in, and is a HUGE snit, over the behavior of the aforesaid former lady friend.  Now he remembers why she was a "former" friend. 

It's all a bit of a romp, and the villains are rather a hoot.  I enjoyed this enormously.  It's nice to have a bit of a lark for a change.

The Flash #16

Well, things aren't going too well in Central City, as Grodd has taken over, although the Rogues are doing a simply bang-up job of fighting gorillas!  Damnit, I love the Rogues! 

Barry obsesses over how to defeat Grodd, and it turns out that he can't outrun him with his feet, but he can OUT THINK him with his lightning fast brain!  Oh Barry.  Also Iris more or less lands on top of him.  It's pretty good actually, and the art is always stellar.


The Green Lantern Corps Annual #1

I don't know if I should be thrilled or outraged.  Possibly a bit of both.  More tomorrow!


Jonah Hex #16

Well, we are still dealing with Mister Hyde.  He broke Jonah's leg last issue, so he's been recuperating at Arkham asylum, which mainly consists of being drunk.  His nice young nurse isn't too happy with having to deal with his tantrums.  He's also not happy that Doctor Arkham's crazy old mother is making such a fuss upstairs all the time, and when he's run out of whiskey, he crawls upstairs to deal with her.

Apparently she's not such a bad sort after all.  She's a bit of a romantic, and has been reading Jane Eyre, so she's projecting her fantasies onto Jonah, who incidentally, makes for a wonderful Mister Rochester.  He's nice enough not to ruin her fun. 

Of course, Mister Hyde shows up, and they fight brutally, and wouldn't you know it, Jonah finally shoots, him, and he turns back into Jekyll, which somehow also heals Doctor Arkham, and Jonah tosses the evil serum into the bay.  So there is a happy ending for a change. 

This has all been interesting with Jonah hanging out in Gotham, but I think that I am more than ready to have him ride back west and start dealing with owlhoots again.


Justice League Dark #16

Things are not going well for our little band, they are trapped in a dimension with no magic, and even Constantine's gift for gab has deserted him.  Xanadu is dying of old age, Black Orchid is all monstrous, and it turns out that Tim Hunter is the rightful ruler of this place. 

And then things really get weird, and now all of creation is in big big trouble.  Oh those silly scientists.


Hawkeye #7

Gosh, I love this book.  This is the one that is all about Hurricane Sandy, and is basically two stories, one with Clint, who is helping out one of the guys in his building, go to his father's and batten down the hatches.  That doesn't work out quite the way that they had planned, and they end up in the flood, and his pal and his father have a bonding moment. 

Then Kate is going to a party in New Jersey and she and Clint have a hysterical discussion about the merits of Brooklyn over New Jersey, that is quite amusing.  The fancy hotel doesn't turn out to be quite as hurricane proof as they had thought, and they get stuck, while Kate goes out to try and find a drug store for medicine for one of the refugees, and gets blindsided by some thugs who are looting the place.  Fortunately, she's saved by some very nice locals, the baddies are apprehended, and happiness prevails...or as much as it can, in the middle of such devastation.

This is the book that Matt Fraction is donating his salary towards Sandy Relief, which is a stunningly noble thing to do.  Yes, the art is a bit rushed, but what the heck.  I understood what was going on, and it's for a good cause.  I live in Connecticut, so while we didn't get it quite as bad as New Jersey and New York...it was bad enough.

Great stuff


And Saga finally showed up!  My store got shorted.  Gosh, it is a great book.  But you already all probably know that.

What a fabulous Wednesday!

Green Lantern: New Guardians #16

When we last left young Kyle, he was being instructed in how to use a violet ring, by some Star Sapphires, while Carol and Arkillo and St. Walker wandered off and did stuff in that gawdawful Annual.  The Star Sapphires are trying to awaken his emotions towards his loved ones, but he remains closed off. 

Really? Kyle? 

Anyway, in the middle of all of this, Ganthet shows up and decides to open up a can of whup-ass on his baby boy.  Ganthet has been depicted as being Kyle's Father Figure, at least in the 52 Universe.  Kyle fights back using all of the other ring powers, and is trying to reason with Ganthet, whom is still under the evil influence of the other Guardians, so naturally there is a whole lot of taunting going on. 

Then the Zamarons show up and reveal that they weren't REALLY in league with the Guardians, but just stringing them along for a while...which wasn't a bad strategy all things considered.  Ganthet sneers for a bit, and they want to kill him, but Kyle pleads with them not to do so, because he is sure he can reach him.  Too bad that Ganthet then decides to sic a bunch of the Third Army zombies on him! 

Oh that Ganthet...he's such a wag!!

Carol, Arkillo and St Walker show up and add to the chaos.  At one point you almost for a second think that Kyle is getting through to Ganthet...till Ganthet blows him up.  As Kyle lies there, probably bleeding to death, he decides that he "forgives" Ganthet, who continues to sneer...and then, lo and behold, suddenly, Kyle is filled with White Light!  He's Mastered all of the Emotions!  Woohoo!

Then stretching out his glowing white hand, he evaporates the poor Third Army guys, and thus scares the crap out of Ganthet, who decides to get the hell out of Dodge.  Then everyone poses for a little bit, and we are all being set up for the final showdown tomorrow in the Green Lantern Corps Annual.  And boy howdy, am I ready for that! 


I think that it's nice that Kyle, of all the Lanterns was the one to master the White Light.  Sinestro tried, and so did Hal, but I like Kyle.  He's a good boy.  What I don't really buy however is that Kyle...of all people...would have trouble with a Love ring.  Of ALL the Earth Lanterns, he's the MOST open about his emotions!  With the possible exception of Guy.  Kyle is always falling in love!  Kyle loves BEING in Love! His very last words the last time he got killed were that he loved Soranik and Guy!  Hal I can understand having problems, but lately, he's been running around babbling about how much he loves Carol.  And John is a bit reluctant to bleat out his emotions.  Guy is almost as emotional as Kyle, but he's got other problems at the moment. 

Oh well. 

I still don't like the art that much, but the story did finally pick up a bit.  I do hope that they don't murder poor Ganthet, but if they want to squash the rest of the Guardians, I am ALL FOR IT!

Green Lantern Corps #16

Egad, it is snowing like mad.  A perfect day to curl up with a Green Lantern!

When last we left Guy, he had been arrested by his own sister for inadvertently busting up an undercover police sting.  I wasn't aware that was a CRIME per se, but it seems to be in the DC Universe, since Guy is next seen in this issue In Jail.  Is he merely awaiting trial, or has he already been tried and convicted, because his brute of a cellmate seems to be looking forward to beating the crap out of him.  If he HAS been tried and convicted, that was the fastest trial on record!  Otherwise, do they normally lock suspects up with hardened criminals?

Ah, questions, questions.

Fortunately, Guy, although rather depressed, isn't quite as helpless without his ring, as everyone seems to think.  He gets taken into a visitor's room, to see his brother and sister, and is uncharacteristically, down in the mouth.  So naturally, his little sister starts slapping the heck out of him.  Also, the guards just stand there and watch this, with a smirk on their faces.  Granted, she does have her uniform on, but is that sort of thing permitted?  Sheesh!

Right in the middle of this little family bonding time, the alarm goes off, and it is a bunch of the Third Army zombies, sent especially by the Guardians to take out Guy.  Boy, those guys can hold a grudge!  Guy recognizes them immediately, and snaps out of his funk, and into action, after convincing the guard to unshackle him.

Meanwhile, Fatality, or Yrra, which is her real name, is hanging out with John, trying to figure out how to reunite all of Mogo's pieces.  Some of them have been commandeered by what seems to be some Space Pirates, who are using them to try and take over a nice planet.  Naturally  a Green Lantern isn't about to sit around and let this sort of thing happen, so John and Yrra spring into action.  She and John also decide it is high time to start comparing notes, so both of them are now aware that the Guardians are Up To No Good, the evil little smurfs.

Back in Baltimore, Guy and his family and the remaining guards are shooting like mad, but are about to be overrun, when who should bust in, but Bd'g and Simon Baz!  Woohoo!  Guy is delighted to see Bd'g and slightly startled by the sight of Simon, and first things first, gets his brother and sister to safety, along with the remaining guards and prisoners, which is a thoughtful thing for him to do.  Simon bridles a little at being ordered around, but Guy sets him straight. 

After blowing up a whole lot of things in  a suitably spectacular fashion, they hightail it to the Moon, and try to figure out what to do next.  Guy is needling Simon a bit...naturally, but they do get him to replay his ring's message, so Guy finally learns that Hal is in Big Trouble.

Pasarin does his usual excellent job with the artwork.  Simon Baz is ok in this...at least he had the good sense to sit back and let Guy in the proverbial driver's seat.  Bd'g continues to be a delight.  That prison jumpsuit however just HAS to go.

It's nice that things finally seem to be happening!

Green Lantern #16

You know, Simon Baz may be on the cover, but we all know who the hero of this issue REALLy is.  And that's Bd'g   Man I love that Squirrel!  He may not have a bow tie, but he's alright in my book.

And quite frankly, Simon is damned lucky that Bd'g shows up, or else his and that FBI agent's tails would have been toast.  Literally.  Bd'g manages to show Simon how NOT to act, and where to find his battery, and how to charge it.  Simon does insist on keeping that stupid gun.  I can understand some caution, but seriously, I'm beginning to wonder about his actual willpower.

Bd'g also shows him how to access the message in the ring, so we get both Hal's and Sinestro's stories, not to mention the warning about how the Guardians are going bonkers, news that doesn't seem to surprise Bd'g all that much.  But still, it is good information for Simon to have.  I also had to snicker just a little bit at Sinestro's confidence that Arkillo is still his loyal henchman, when we've all learned from the New Guardians book, that Arkillo thinks that Sinestro is a traitor to the cause of Fear.  It should be really interesting when these two get together.

So, after having the Alien Squirrel tell him how to be a Green Lantern, Simon has one more thing to do, and that is to go to the hospital where his brother is in a coma.  Then, even though it is supposed to be impossible, Simon, through pure strength of will...performs the impossible, and happiness and joy and astonishment ensue.  I'm not competely sure that I am buying this, actually.  I haven't seen a single thing that Simon has done yet that hints that he has this much power.

Fortunately, the television was on, and Bd'g sees that Guy Gardner is in BIG trouble, and off they go to the rescue.  Damn, I love that Squirrel!

And finally, we have our obligatory peek at Hal and Sinstro who are still stumbling around Death City.  The cloaked figure...is not Katma Tui.  Dang it!  But Tomar Re is a suitable substitute, and naturally, he and all the other dead people needs Hal's help.

Oh Hal.

The art as usual, by Doug Mahnke is stunning, and the coloring is quite nice too, especially with the contrast between the light and glowing greens and the dull tones of the Dead Zone.  At least something is finally happening in this book, as we speed towards the climax of the whole Evil Guardian/Rise of the Third Army story...and progress is a good thing.

Joyous Reviews

Great Googally Moogally!  What a lovely week this was!  THREE Green Lantern books!  And other stuff.

So, speaking of other stuff...

Batwoman #16

Dagnabit, but this was good.  Wonder Woman, Kate AND Maggie are doing their best to save Gotham, while Medusa is trying to use the kidnapped children in order to call up her mother, the Mother Of Monsters.  They may be Monsters, but dang, they love their Mum!  So Sweet!

Great story, great art.  Read it!

Birds of Prey #16

Well, the new members decide to show up, and naturally, there is a fight.  There HAS to be a fight.  Batgirl vouches for the new Talon, aka Mary, aka Strix, who has a little bit of trouble fitting in.  Also, Condor, from their little jaunt to Japan, also decides to show up, and I have to say...I find him rather amusing.  Also Canary seems to be having certain problems with her Canary Cry, which seems to be getting out of hand...to say the least. 

Nothing too mind-boggling, but a decent issue, nevertheless.

 Fables #125

I liked this.  It has been seemingly wandering all over the place lately, and I have to say that the most recent story with the Cubs in Toyland tale, was getting a tad on the tedious side.  But now we are back to Snow White and Bigby Wolf, and that always makes me happy.

Bigby is searching for his missing cubs, accompanied by Stinky the Badger, in Sleeping Beauty's magic car.  Also we see Mrs. Spratt, who is trying to seduce King Cole, and is probably up to No Good.  And the Fencing Master, who was also in cahoots with Mrs. Spratt and the Dark guy, and  who is ALSO up to no good.  Too bad about that nice troll.  And Snow White gets something of a BIG surprise.

Back to its original excellence.

Green Lantern #16
Green Lantern Corps #16
Green Lantern: New Guardians #16

It makes the most sense if you read them in that order. 

Yowza!


Justice League #16

Let me just go on record as saying...The Justice League is a bunch of idiots.  And I am including Batman. 

After Atlantis is bombed, Aquaman's brother, the King, is naturally very very cranky, and decides to retaliate.  Arthur is doing his absolute level best, to try and defuse the situation, which is rapidly spinning out of control, when the Justice League shows up and starts throwing their weight around, and refusing to listen to his desperate explanations.  Because after all, what does HE know? 

Wonder Woman, is completely moronic, and 180 degrees from her portrayal in her own book.  Superman isn't much better, and Batman doesn't seem nearly as smart as he is supposed to be.  Cyborg is slightly more intelligent than the lot of them.  Flash doesn't seem to be around.  Things escalate rapidly and badly.

The art is lovely of course.  But I can certainly see why Simon Baz had no trouble making fools out of them.


Wonder Woman #16

Fortunately, for my state of mind, Diana is completely awesome in her own book, as opposed to the way that she acts over at the Justice League.  She also behaved quite well in the Batwoman book.  I love Geoff Johns, but he REALLY doesn't seem to have a very good handle on Diana. 

Milan, manages to stop Diana and Orion from fighting...albeit in a rather disgusting manner.  Zola and Hera are joined at the bar by Ares, and Hera is having quite the time with the choices of cocktails.  And they all learn from Milan, who can see practically everywhere, that Zola's baby is with Hermes, and Demeter, and that there is something a little bit different about that baby. 

Meanwhile, the First Born is having quite the time of it beating up avatars of Hades, or whatever.  As usual, the art is phenomenal, and heck, I am loving this book.

And finally,

Young Avengers #1

I loved Kieron Gilllen on Journey into Mystery, and I am enjoying him on this book as well.  It has young Loki, who is probably up to no good at all, Miss America, Noh-varr who is a sexy sexy beast, and apparently really enjoys 1960's Girl Bands,  and WIccan and Teddy, and eventually, Kate, aka Hawkeye. 

The art by Jamie McKelvie and Mike Norton is fabulous, clean and spare and just...just fun.  It's a fun book.
It's a GOOD book, and I am happy to be finally reading it. 

More on Green Lanterns anon!

Egad!

I am so excited about tomorrow's books that I could plotz.  ALL of the Green Lantern books are coming out in one fell swoop.  And apparently the entire Evil Guardian plotline winds up in the Green Lantern Annual, which is supposed to come out next week.  At least, if you believe the blurbs. 

I...I'm all a-twitter!  It will finally be over, and we can get on to something new.  Maybe good solid story-telling about all my favorite Lanterns!  Wouldn't that be something? 

Oh, and a bunch of other books are coming out too.  And a good thing, it has been a bit on the lean side all of this month for some reason. 



Yes Guy...yes we can!

What if?

So...I've been thinking about the current state of the Green Lanterns.  My beloved beloved Green Lanterns.  I do believe they are in something of a rut.  Hell, I think that the entire DC Line is in a rut.  Now that they've thrown out all those years of precious continuity, the editors and writers, seem at something of a loss.  Writers come and writers go, some of them before they've actually...written a single issue, which I find to be...peculiar.  Writers are fired and then rehired.  What the heck is going on? 

I think that a lot of this has to be hard of Geoff Johns, which brings me back to my Lanterns.  I am very fond of Geoff Johns, and I enjoy his writing...most of the time.  Lately though, I believe his wheels to be spinning.  And part of that can relate to the fact that there is no continuity for him to go spelunking through.  If there is one thing that Geoff Johns is very good at, it is poking around the forgotten corners of DC history, and coming up with tiny wisps of stories, that can be caressed and cleaned off and spun into the finest threads of gold for new stories.  He can't really do that sort of thing when all of that repository has been canned.  And that is unfortunate. 

Which brings me to Kyle.  While it is true that young Kyle has had the worst of luck when it comes to girlfriends dying, heck just about everyone he knows dying, there is also something that he has been awfully good at...and that is resurrections.  He brought back most of the Corps for Pete's sake, not to mention recreating the Guardians, Kilowog, and even his own Mother!  So...let's have Kyle work his magic and bring back all of those nice dead Lanterns, and get rid of this current bunch of worthless Guardians, who have proved themselves to be completely unworthy of the duty placed upon them.  Bring back Sayd, have Ganthet get his brains back, and bring back a whole fabulous host of really cool Green Lanterns.  Like Katma!  And Boodikka, and Kreon, and Ch'p! 

And then, please God, let us have stories about the Green Lantern Corps again. 

Oh, and Hal and Sinestro too.  Why the heck not?

Reviews!

Enough of the Green Lantern pictures...at least for today.  Because of course, yesterday was Wednesday...the BEST day of the week, with the possible exception of Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  And a fairly decent week it was.  I would have liked to have done a review of Saga, but my beloved Comic Book Store was shorted on its order, and I got burned.

Dagnabit!

Batgirl #16

And we continue with the whole Death of the Family story, as Barbara is being forced into a mock "marriage" to the Joker, in order to save the life of her mother.  This is well done, and the art is  ok, and of course I love Gail Simone, but man...I do wish that this whole Joker story would just reach its conclusion already.

Batgirl, is desperately trying to figure out a way to stymie the Joker, and she is also constrained not only by her fear for her mother, but by her own hate and rage over what he did to her.  And then just in time to confuse things even further, her evil Brother James shows up and throws a monkey wrench into the whole fiasco.  I found it interesting that even the Joker seemed rocked a tiny bit off of his balance...this was one thing that he hadn't accounted for.

And we end, with the Joker holding a covered dish, that doesn't bode well, since I am pretty sure that it isn't prime rib.

Pretty decent, actually.


Batman #16

Speaking of pertty decent, I do have to admit that I have been enjoying the Bat books.  Scott Snyder is an excellent writer, and Greg Capullo is an excellent artist, and it has been quite the ride, seeing the strange and perverted love affair that the Joker has with Batman.  Unrequited of course, but nonetheless, quite real.

They are in Arkham now, and Bats is desperately trying to free the guards, but of course, their cells have been boobytrapped.  The Joker always seems to be one step ahead of him, no matter how he tries.  It was pretty bizarre when Batman tried to sneak in through the stables, not only was there a horse on fire, but then after being attacked by the quasi-knights, he PUNCHES a horse.  This of course should not surprise anybody.  Batman has a history of punching large quadrupeds, and even the occasional bided.  He punched a rhino for God's Sake!  I also am at a loss to explain why Arkham Asylum would even HAVE a stable, but I don't live in Gotham.  In Connecticut we have the Governor's Horse Guard, which is rather a nice thing to have.

Anyhoo...Batman finally makes his way to where the Joker is hanging out, only to discover that not only does he have hostages dressed up as the Justice League, but he is also holding court with none other than the Penguin, the Riddler and Two-Face.  It is always a delight to see the Penguin and the Riddler, both of whom I am rather fond of.  Two-Face...not quite so much, but still.  There is even a throne for Batman.  The Joker tells the poor hostages that if they can pull the chainsaw from the stone, then they can go free.

Right.

The whole thing is a twisted Arthurian mockery, Snyder does a brilliant job of showing the Joker's madness, and devotion to detail.  Batman of course ascends the throne and is in for the shock of his life.  Also there is a short story at the back, concerning the reactions of Penguin, Riddler and Two-Face, and darned if that covered dish doesn't make an appearance again.  The Joker really wants to show off his culinary skills.

Damned goo.

Batman & Robin #16

Holy Plethora of Batbooks!

Seriously, this is a lot of books.  It does make it easy to see what is going to happen however.  Tomasi and Gleason do their usual superlative job with the writing and the artwork.  Damian had been captured of course, and is now facing Batman, who seems to have been infected with Joker venom and is going his level best to kill his son.  And you know that Batman's level best is pretty darned good!  Damian, bless his twisted little heart, is doing HIS level best to talk him out of it, and to try and snap him back to reality, but he's got the same venom as well, and things aren't going so well.

And Damian finally decides that he can't kill his own father, and offers up himself!  Just when Batman is about to kill his own son, the Joker steps in, and it turns out of course that it isn't really Batman at all, just some poor Martial Arts expert.  Damian stabs the Joker in the foot with a screwdriver, but it doesn't even slow him down.  I'm not even sure if he even feels it!  He drags Damian off, and then offers him that samed cursed covered dish.

What on earth is IN that thing?  Alfred's head?  Head cheese?  Cheese and crackers?  I guess we will have to wait and find out.

Also darned good.


Demon Knights #16

I have to say that I do enjoy this book.  Thirty years have gone by since our unusual little group banded together to save Camelot and Avalon and all that stuff.  The Horsewoman has been pursued and captured, and tossed into prison, where to her surprise, she finds none other than Exoristos and Sir Ystin...also all chained up.  Then the vizier comes in, apologizes, and takes them  upstairs to see his boss.  Who, it turns out, is Al Jabr!  Unlike the rest of them, he has aged.  He aplogogizes as well, he is runnign this nice little country, that is a marvel of beauty and peace, using his science.  And he's trying to get The Band back together to fight a new evil menace.

It's pretty menacing as it turns out.  Cain, is running around being a vampire or something, and drinking people's blood throughout Europe, and turning them into his vampire slaves.  He also has what appears to be an Amazon helping him, which infuriates Exoristos.  And in Gibralter, Vandal Savage is entertaining himself by torturing Jason Blood.  Too bad he can't turn into Etrigan...although I'm pretty sure that is going to change in the near future.

It is an interesting set up, and I can hardly wait to see what is going to happen next.

Threshold: The Hunted #1

This is more of what was just presented in the Green Lantern: New Guardians Annual.  I was not particularly impressed with that book, although some of the concepts were interesting, I found it to be very hard to follow, and the various people were so amazingly out of character.  At least in this book, using mostly new characters, they don't seem OUT of character, because we have never seen them before.  So this actually works a bit better.

Jediah Caul, the undercover Green Lantern seems to be the new protagonist of this book, and he is slightly less annoying than he was in the previously mentioned Annual.  "Criminals" to Lady Styx are hunted by various professional Gangs, and by regular people, and the whole thing is being broadcast to appease the populace, which is a rather biting commentary on social media.  Of course Howard Chaykin did the same thing quite some time ago.  Still...I suppose that I may stick with this a bit to see what happens.

And of course there is a backup story with Larfleeze, who ends up being...robbed!


Dang it, I really did want to read Saga.

Not a bad week all things considered.

Snow!

Well, living in lovely New England, and it being January and all, I don't know why I am surprised that it is actually snowing.  But it is a wet and heavy sloppy mess, that is mixed with freezing rain, and all of that...messiness. 

Bah!

Since the highway is more or less a parking lot, I am going in a little later today.  In the meantime however, you can enjoy some visual treats.



Here is Kyle, showing off his assets.

Oh Kyle.

Tuesday is Worse Than Monday!

Oh can there be anything worse than a Monday?  Why yes, that would be Tuesday...the deadliest day of the week.  You KNOW that the Comics are coming tomorrow...but it is a whole day away.  And the rest of the week stretches out before you.

Therefore, drastic measures must be taken.



This is interesting on so many levels.  For one thing, it has Guy PUNCHING HIMSELF!  Or actually his Evil Clone, Joe Gardner. 

Hal doesn't have an Evil Clone.  John doesn't have an Evil Clone.  Neither does Kyle.  Heck, I don't think that Batman even has an Evil Clone!  Just Guy.  Because he's special. 

Also, as much as Greg Land can infuriate me, this shows that once upon a time, he actually could draw...and draw very nicely indeed.  He's one of the few artists who made that goddamned haircut actually look good.   Joe/Guy looks very pretty here.  And it is always fun to see Guy as Warrior. 

Although I have to admit that Hal has punched himself as well.


The results aren't quite as satisfying however.  At least not to Hal.  I enjoy the heck out of it.

Egad, It's Monday

It's Monday and I haven't a thought in my head.  So here is a picture of Guy beating up...something.  I am impressed with the contortions that he is going through, it is practically worthy of Ami's Escher Girls blog!  Nevertheless, watching Guy beat things always lifts MY spirits.  It may lift yours as well!

Green Lantern: New Guardians, Annual #1

Well!  So this is the new Annual for Green Lantern: New Guardians, featuring Kyle Rayner, or at it's supposed to feature Kyle, but let me just save you some time, if you happen to be a Kyle fan...and I am...he's barely in it.

Keith Giffen is the writer, and I'm personally torn, because I LIKE Keith Giffen, but this...this is dreadful.  And the art by Scott Kolins and Andrei Bressan is also not to my taste.  It may be to yours.  But I started this book with anticipation, and by the third page, I had to admit that I didn't have a CLUE about what was going on.

We begin...I think...with an alien world, and what appears to be some sort of contest going on, with teams hunting people, that is more or less televised (?) on this particular world, with the hunters having their fans, and earning points, and killing the hunted, and stuff.  There are a few amusing or at least mildly clever moments, mainly in the ads for the various hunter groups.

Then we jump to Arkillo who is hanging out with St. Walker, except that the latter doesn't seem to be particularly hopeful at all.  They are upset because there are too many people who are becoming part of the Third Army, and wish that there were more dead ones. 

Meanwhile, Carol Ferris, with Kyle is tow, shows up on the Zamaron's doorstep.  She doesn't know that they have thrown in their lot with the Guardians...who I would imagine plan to double-cross them at the first opportunity...and is supposed to be in charge of training Kyle in the use of the Violet Ring, but instead casually throws him off to some other Star Sapphire, and basically, that is the last that we see of Kyle, because they have a mission for Carol to perform.  She needs to go and have a little chat with Lady Styx, who hangs out at the place where the Hunters and Hunted hang out, and see if they can work out a deal of some kind.  Exactly what, I cannot tell you. 

So after dumping Kyle, she gets together with Arkillo and St. Walker and they somehow managed to find and contact a Green Lantern named Jediah Caul, who is deep deep undercover, and he's rude, obnoxious and dismissive.  He also pawns them off on a bunch of bounty hunters, who of course betray them at the first opportunity.  Carol is captured, and about to be hunted, when she does manage to have a talk with Lady Styx, who naturally tells her to get lost.  Then somehow, she is rescued, along with Arkillo and St. Walker. Did I mention that their rings don't work?  And I think they escape but Jediah Caul is captured instead.

Good.  I hope they blow him up. 

This was seriously terrible.  The dialogue made no sense, and half of the time I wasn't even sure who was speaking.  Carol sounded like a completely different person, as did they all.  I know that Giffen is better at plotting than dialogue, and I can surely believe it after reading this.  The artwork was unclear, and murky, and jumbled, and again, most of the time, I simply couldn't tell what the hell was going on. 

And there weren't any butt shots of Kyle, which is just Not Done!  Plenty of Carol, but who cares about that? 

I am going to drop this book.  Kyle is barely in it.  It's mostly about Carol and Arkillo and Larfleeze and St. Walker.  I like those characters, but I like Kyle better, and he's hardly doing anything, or barely even shows up.  And like ALL of the other books, this is just spinning its wheels.  I also don't like the new Jediah Caul character At All. 

I can hardly believe this, but I am panning a Green Lantern book. 

Give this a pass.

Thursday's Reviews!

Yet another fairly small week for me.  I must admit to completely enjoying the half hour chat that I had with Jesse at my beloved Comic Book Store however, as we commiserated each other on how LONG DC was taking to Get To The Point of their latest storylines.  Something that I have already pissed and moaned about earlier this week. 

Yes, I do tend to obsess sometimes. 

But onto the action.

Action Comics #16

Well, this was different, but actually...good!  Grant Morrison seems to be bringing together some of the disparate plotlines that have been strewed so randomly throughout the last few months together, and making a coherent story out of all that has been going on. 

We have the Legion, in a different Future, trying to get back to Superman so that he can change their time line, which is all messed up due to the vile machinations of Mxpltelxasdfja;sdkf....oh you know who.  Somehow he's managed to bring all sorts of different time strands together in his single minded attempt to kill Superman, including messing with Doomsday, and Luthor and all sorts of funky stuff.  It's pretty engrossing actually, and I enjoyed this thoroughly.

Rags Morales is always a treat to have on the artwork.  And then there was Sholly Fisch and Christ Sprouse on the backup feature, with the Legion.  And...I didn't hate it!  Usually the very mention of those snotty Teens From The Future makes me break out in hives, but I blush to admit this...I enjoyed it too. Possibly because it had Bouncing Boy in it.


Fairest #11

Rapunzel is still the focus of this story, which seems to have been going on for quite some time now.  We seem to be in flashback mode this month, as it is all an explanation of the creepy web thingie that seemed to have appeared LAST month, and which was constructed of her own bezoars.  Disgusting, but intriguing, I have to say.  It does explain how the Japanese Fables were betrayed by one of their own to the Adversary, and how Rapunzel managed to survive, which is interesting, but doesn't really get us any further about what happened to her children.

So, mildly interesting, but not riveting.


Green Lanterns: New Guardians Annual

What...The...Hell?


Thor:, God of Thunder #4

Now this was pretty damned good.  I've been quite pleased with this offering from Marvel lately, and I see no reason to change my mind, although I have to admit...it does cover a lot of the same ground from the previous issues as well, giving us a peek at what is happening in the past, present and future, without really giving us too much more information.  I still don't know who the God Killer is, or why exactly he is so very very angry.  I'm hoping that we get to that eventually. 

But the art is gorgeous, and the story is a good one.  I just wish that it would pick up a wee bit too.



So...not a bad week by any means, with the possible exception of the Green Lantern Book which I will review tomorrow, because I just can't bring myself to read it again today.

I've Seen Glaciers Move Faster!

Man oh man, but I have been in a cranky mood lately.  So...so cranky. 

Is it just me, or have so many of the books lately been moving at a pace that makes a glacier look fast?  Month after month, it is just more of the same, with the plot advanced by...a panel or two.  Or they do a flashback issue, which is nice, because at least something happens, but it is another way of delaying the action in the book.  What is DC waiting for?  Do we have to put up with yet another year of fan-fiction from the editors and writers? 

I started out all excited about Swamp Thing and Animal Man.  I stopped reading them several months ago, because not only was it getting really bloody and frankly, a bit disgusting, but it is Just...So...Slow.  In Batman, I actually loved the whole Court of Owls storyline, and I think that Scott Snyder is an excellent writer...but the Joker has been capering about for quite a while now.  I'm tired of the Joker.  Really really really tired of the Joker. 

Even my beloved Green Lanterns have been dawdling.  The Guardians keep getting nastier and nastier...more and more worlds are being lost to the third army.  Hal and Sinestro show up for a couple of panels...maybe...in each issue, and I find their story, as brief as it is...to be FAR more interesting than the trials and tribulations of Simon Baz, who has yet to do anything heroic yet.  Kyle has been putting on a new ring in each issue, but that's about it...he's hardly even IN the book, it seems to be more about Carol or Arkillo, or whomever.  And when Kyle is in the book, he's either angry, or greedy or hopeful, but he sure isn't acting much like Kyle. 

Guy has at least been doing things.  John has been wandering around looking for pieces of Mogo, which is actually a good plotline, and I would like to see that do something as well.  But jeez!  I gave up Red Lanterns months ago.  I looked at the latest book,and it honestly could have been an issue from four or five months ago...literally nothing has happened.  Just beat up the Guardians, bring back all the dead Lanterns, get Guy his ring back, and LET'S DO SOMETHING! 

I love my comics, I really do...but I'm starting to get a wee bit resentful.  Am I the only one?

My Feminism has received a Crushing Blow

I seem to be getting crankier in my old age.  I was at work today, and dealing with any number of customers who were actually angry with Dinsdale, one of the Piranha Brothers who run my place of employment, and my quasi-boss.  So I was already in a fairly peevish sort of mood.  And it is Monday. 

But when one of the Store Managers called me and asked me what were the names of those "gals" who also work here...you know, the secretaries...I completely lost my mind, and pointed out that those "gals" happened to be the Office Manager who has worked here for 20 years, and the Accounts Payable Clerk, and that they didn't happen to be secretaries, simply because they were women.   Then I put him through to the Office Manager who probably makes more money than he does, but she'll always just be a secretary to him...and alas, to practically all the other men in the office. 

Heck, I'm referred to as Dinsdale's "girl" all of the time, when he is talking to customers on the phone.  Drives me nuts, it does.  Do people call up and ask for the "boys" or the "guys" names that work here?  Oh, you know, the comptroller or the asst. manager? 

So, naturally I thought of Hal.



Even Hal is shocked.

And another thing!  They have gone and redone Photobucket, so trying to post a picture now involves three or four extra steps!  Gah!  I don't HAVE a Facebook account!  I only annoy you here!

Blah.

Review Time!

For what was going to be a fairly bleak week, it actually turned out to be pretty good. 

Batman Inc. #6

I only pick this up on occasion, but I simply could not resist the charms of the Bat Cow...Best New Character of the Year!  Nevertheless, I don't think it is very wise of Bruce and Talia to keep fighting in front of the children.  What will the neighbors think!

Of course, I think that Talia is completely off of her rocker anyway.  Apparently while I wasn't reading this, all of the other Batpeople have been rounded up and are in dire dire straights.  Meanwhile the various Robins and former Robins, and Alfred are gathered together watching all of this.  I don't confess to knowing what is going on at all.  I thought Alfred had been kidnapped by the Joker? 

But Damian's new kitty was cute...he looks as though he'd be perfect for a friend for Dex-starr. 

End result...I don't have a clue what is going on, but it sure was fun to read anyway.


The Flash #15

I cannot begin to tell you all how incredibly gorgeous this book is.  It's clean and easy to read, the the whole method of stretching out the feeling of the Speed Force is simply breathtaking. 

Barry is still fighting Gorillas.  Somehow Grodd has managed to tap into the Speed force too, and the apparent death of Barry means that he's weaker now.  But still up for some fighting.  The Rogues continue to do their part.  I love the Rogues. 

All in all, a heck of a book.  I always look forward to this.  I like Barry so much more in his own book than in the Justice League, where he sounds more like Wally.  I love Wally and I miss Wally, but Barry isn't Wally, so it is a bit annoying.

Jonah Hex #15

Well, Hyde manages to infect Doctor Arkham with the evil potion, and he beats the crap out of Jonah, who continues to fight despite suffering defenestration and a broken leg.  Basically he tells the sawbones to rub some dirt in it, he's got some monsters to kill.  A hot nurse is supposed to be looking after him.

There was a lot of action of course, but I can't help but yearn for the wide open spaces of the Old West.  I find Gotham to be a tad claustrophobic...something that I feel Jonah shares as well. 


Justice League Dark #15

I continue to find this fairly interesting.  The artwork is always very pretty.  Zatanna and Tim Hunter have been whisked off to another dimension or world or something, and Magic is acting very strangely there.  They do manage to find a way to follow them, and Magic continues to do weird things to Frankenstein and poor Black Orchid, not to mention making Deadman alive again.  At least...momentarily.

With the ending of Hellblazer, this is going to be the only way that I can read about John Constantine.  It's a bit depressing... I love Cosntantine, but I love him best as his foul-mouthed, chainsmoking double-crossing OLD self in London. 

*sigh*

And finally, after about a month or more, my beloved Comic Book Store managed to get me a copy of the new Fables book, Werewolves of the Heartland, featuring none other than Bigby Wolf.  My Comic Book Store always manages to come through for me!

It takes place in the fairly recent past, during all the kerfuffle with the Dark Man, as Bigby is searching for another location for Fabletown, and happens across a hamlet in Iowa named Story Town.  In addition to sounding just right, it also turns out that Bluebeard had quite the financial interest in the place, all of which makes it interesting to the former sheriff. 

Turns out that the place is solely inhabited by werewolves.  That's something you don't see everyday!  And it also turns out that Bigby himself is revered as a God among them, and that he had something to do with their very creation, as an old buddy of his from World War II, was killed trying to save him from the Nazis at the Frankenstein castle, and....well, it's complicated.  But fun. 

Plus there is a whole lot of male nudity, albeit displayed in a most tasteful manner.  I haven't seen that many bare boy behinds in quite a while!  There are girls too, but that doesn't float my boat quite as much, although it may for some people.  Lots of blood too.  This is a pretty  violent book!  But pretty good nevertheless. 

So, not a bad start to the New Year.