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!