Red Lanterns #21

Well.

Well!

I have to admit that I was looking forward to this book with a combination of anticipation and dread.  Anticipation, because I had gone ALL MONTH LONG without Guy.  Dread, because I really haven't been all that thrilled with the Red Lanterns.   And it is by a new writer to the Green Lantern mythos, and I have been accustomed to Peter Tomasi and Geoff Johns, and Fernando Pasarin and Doug Mahnke and Pat Gleason...and because I'm a bit of a pain in the ass.

However...

This was...Good! 

We begin with Atrocitus killing one of his own Lanterns.  He's a bit regretful about it, but apparently the Guardians had planted a bug...literally...inside one of the Red Lanterns, in order to keep an eye on what Atrocitus was up to.  Atrocitus found out and he's not happy at all.  The Red Lanterns also don't quite see why they have to keep coming to the rescue of the other corps whenever the latest Huge Disaster Threatening the Universe Du Jour occurs.  I get the feeling that the Red Lanterns would like to do a little bit of menacing on their own...and who can blame them? 

Then Atrocitus decides...for the good of his corps...that he is going to bleed Rankorr dry, in order to gain access to his ability to create constructs.  Rankorr is not happy about this.  Atrocitus isn't winning too many friends here.

Meanwhile...back on Oa, Hal drops by as Guy is tinkering with is motorcycle.  Hal feels that they need to do something about the Red Lanterns, especially since their source of information has...er...dried up.  He feels, that in light of his past history...Guy would be the perfect person to infiltrate the Rage Corps.  Guy of course wonders who died and put Hal in charge. He even expresses a certain amount of sardonic glee when he finds out that Hal is indeed running the Green Lantern Corp.

Guy, in a fairly calm and cool fashion, decides to lay out for Hal exactly what he is asking for, and what he is asking Guy to sacrifice.  Hal really doesn't understand fully, because...well, because he's Hal, but assures Guy that he would have one of the Blue Lanterns standing by to help him.  Guy points out that with a Red Ring, there is a good chance that he wouldn't WANT to be saved.

So, he goes off to the bar, to talk it over with his old buddy Lee, who managed to survive, which is nice.  Thre is a nice back and forth, and Guy discovers some of his motives in the discussion.  I also get the feeling that Hal may have been put in charge, but that for a whole LOT of Lanterns...especially the newer ones...Guy is the one that they know and trust.

Back on Ysmault, Rankorr has defended himself successfully against Atrocitus and the rest of the Reds, when Guy drops by and offers to come and hang out.  Atrocitus, not being completely stupid knows of course, that Guy is there to infiltrate his corps, and of course they start fighting.  .  Guy had mentioned that getting mad was his super power BEFORE he had super powers, and as they tussle, he's thinking to himself about all of the reasons that he's pissed

Guy has a righteous anger.

And he beats Atrocitus AND takes his ring!  Woohoo!

Dexstar the Rage Kitty takes off with Atrocitus, and Guy is mad as heck...and apparently loving it.

 

Hal should be careful about what he asks for. 

I was impressed with Charles Soule, and his insight into what makes Guy Gardner tick.  There were some moments of dark humor, introspection, and an excellent insight into the Red Corps as well as the Green.  I  didn't know what to expect, so I was expecting the worst, and wound up pretty impressed.  The art by Alessandro Vitti was...ok.  It didn't rock my socks off, but it was adequate.  But I thought that this book was the best of the new Green Lanterns.  Although naturally, being a Guy fan, I may be prejudiced. 

Still.  Very good indeed.

So...Many...Books!

Well, THAT was a rather spectacular Wednesday!  I haven't had that many books all in one week in quite  a while!  So let us begin.

Aquaman #21

And the plot is certainly thickening!  Tula and her cohorts continue to kvetch and plot against Arthur.  We'll see where this ends up.  Mera goes home, and meets up with her "husband" Nereus...except he was just her betrothed apparently, which is something of a relief.

Meanwhile, Arthur shows how cool he is, and a very bad fellow indeed, is using left-over Atlantean weaponry to stock a bunch of really crappy looking submarines...so that he can invade Atlantis!

All sorts of things are being set in place, and there is a lot going on, including an extremely old and frozen King.  I will be eagerly seeing how this all plays out.


Batman/Superman #1

Dang, but the art by Jae Lee is pretty.  So...so very pretty.  This is apparently the first meeting of Superman and Batman as Clark travels to Gotham, and is pretty shocked by what he finds.  Then it all begins to have flashbacks and things, as Catwoman is doing terrible thing in Metropolis, and people are possessed, and darn it, it was actually pretty good.  I will be staying with this, at least for the time being.

The Flash #21

Barry vs Bart!  Barry is chasing Bart all over the place, mainly just to ask him some questions, but Bart isn't taking any chances.  Barry learns that Bart isn't from...around here, and ends up teaching him a thing or two.  Meanwhile, the Reverse Flash is still out there, picking off speedsters.  The art is lovely as usual, and dang it...it's kinda fun.

Bart!

Now, if I could only get Wally.

Jonah Hex #21

Well, Booster is talented at many things, but driving a horse-pulled wagon isn't one of them.  He and Jonah and the Dwarf they rescued are being hotly pursued by the Bad Guys, when Booster manages to drive his wagon over a cliff, taking Jonah with him.  Fortunately for them, they don' t die in the fall.  Unfortunately, they get tossed into a time warp or something. Booster knows all about this sort of thing, and tries to hold onto Jonah, but they get separated and poor Jonah ends up in...

...modern day Gotham City!

Oh...this is going to be fun.

Justice League of America #5

Well, for all the people who were worried about Catwoman being killed...it was actually J'onn.  Pretty smart, really. She's still lurking, and nefarious plots are still being hatched.  Amanda Waller wants to shut down the JLA, so Steve Trevor fights for them...which is secretly what she wants anyway.  Courtney shows up to help save the day, and Simon Baz shows up, and is highly confused.  Argus doesn't want B'dge, as their Green Lantern, which quite frankly, is their loss...because B'dge is fabulous!

Also, Hawkman is extremely hard to subdue, there are doppleganger robots, and odd things begin to happen to the new DC Doctor Light.  Not Kimiyo, but hopefully not Doctor McRapey either.

This wasn't too bad actually.  Not great...but not bad.

Justice League #21

Now this was pretty good!  Instead of focusing on the Justice Losers, we have Black Adam and Billy Batson, who finally is acting like a hero.  He also fools Black Adam, by transferring his powers to all of his foster brothers and sisters, so we suddenly have Mary Marvel, and Freddy, and all sorts of interesting things going on.  Being good kids, they naturally, immediately use their powers for...Good!

Also Talky Tawney.  Be still my heart.

Justice League Dark #21

Xanadu is faced with one of her mistakes, mainly her son, who is doing his best to be all evil and kill off everyone.  She is looking into the future, because that is the sort of thing that she does.  The Flash is running around helping out, and being confused, but ending up actually enjoying himself.  Frankenstein does his usual wonderful stuff, Constantine is enigmatic, and Deadman is starting to make googoo eyes at Xanadu.

Oh, and they free Swamp Thing.

Also good stuff.  And pretty pretty art.

Larfleeze #1

I am not quite sure what to think of this.  It is Giffen and DeMatteis back together again, and there is some snappy dialogue and some moderately amusing moments.  But in some ways, I get the impression that they are trying just a little too hard.  Also the art by Scott Kolins doesn't really do it for me.  If it was Kevin Maguire and his magical magical expressions and body language, perhaps it would be a little more fabulous.

As it is...well, it isn't terrible.  I guess I'll stick with it for a bit and see where it goes.

Red Lanterns #21

Guy.

Finally!

Hawkeye #11

Pizza Dog.  A story told from the perspective of Clint's dog.  It is clever and only slightly confusing, and the art is great as usual.   An interesting idea certainly.

Actually, I take that back.  It's a great idea.

This was a really good book.  With a rather gut-wrenching ending. 

But man, is that a great cover or what?


Journey Into Mystery #653

Well, Beta Ray Bill has shown up, crashing into the satellite or space station or whatever, where Sif is guarding Gaia. Gaia is feeling off her feed lately.  Scuttlebutt, Bill's ship is damaged, and his fiance is killed, and he seems more worried about his ship.  Things are happening...odd things, and their memories keep getting mixed up and stuff.

I am so depressed that they are going to be cancelling this book.  I really do feel like a jinx sometimes.

Young Avengers #6

Well, Loki and the others aren't in it, but we do get a look at a couple of potential new recuits for the Young Avengers, and it is pretty fun as usual.  I cannot say enough wonderful things about the artwork, it is clean and unfussy, and it just WORKS!

The writing is great too, Gillen manages to mix in the funny and the macabre all together so effortlessly.

So! 
A whole lot to read and enjoy.  I hope that you all enjoyed your books too!

Come Back!

So...apparently DC has admitted over at Newsarama that they really didn't have much of a plan for the new 52 DC Universe that went past a few months...or so I gather.  I can't say that I am particularly surprised, they do seem to

be running the entire operation by the proverbial seat of their pants.  And while that may work out just fine for Hal Jordan, I can't say that running a comic book company quite compares.

So, they continue to flounder around, alienating their customers, and enraging their writers.  This does not seem to be a viable plan.  Hiring all the leftover people from Marvel in the 90's also doesn't seem to be working out particularly well. 

I'm hot, and cranky, and feeling a little disgruntled.


Do you see these people?  I want to see these people!  In my comic books! 

No Loki?

It has come to my attention, that there is supposedly not going to be an appearance by Loki, as so magnificently portrayed by Tom Huddleston...in the new Avengers movie. 

Damn it.

While I do indeed like Chris Hemsworthy's portrayal of Thor...especially with his shirt off...Rowwwrr!

Uh, where was I?

Oh yes, while I like all of the Avengers, Mark Ruffalo was a surprisingly hilarious choice as the Hulk, I have to admit that I really really enjoyed Loki the most.  Villains always have the most fun anyway, and he seemed to be enjoying himself enormously.  I do believe that he is going to be in the second Thor movie, which is a darned GOOD thing...but still!  What possible villain could they get that would be better than Loki?

And quite frankly, Thanos doesn't cut the mustard with me.  I  find him to be...tedious. 

They could just make a Loki movie, and I would bet that it would be fabulous.

Green Lanterns: New Guardians #21

Finally, the title of "New Guardians" actually makes sense!

So, the evil Guardians are all dead, and the nice sweet New Guardians are here to take over for them, as the new Masters of the Universe or whatever.  This bunch knows that they have been locked away for umpteen billion years, and are therefore somewhat naive about the ways of the worlds, and so, they, in their infinite wisdom have appointed Hal Jordan to lead the Green Lanterns, and want Kyle Rayner to be their tour guide of the Cosmos.  Which actually...is not a terrible idea.

Except that Kyle says no. 

This rather startles the New Guardians.  Kyle is obviously feeling a bit fed up with everything, especially what went down with Ganthet...he doesn't know that Ganthet and Sayd are actually alive and living Happily Ever After.  So Kyle is grumpy.  Can't blame him for that.  And Guy is nowhere to be found, so he can't  coax him out of his bad mood.  Hal however IS around, and they go off and do manly things, which fighting Space Sharks.

I might be slightly more charmed by the idea of Space Sharks, if they hadn't used the exact same concept in Thor, just a couple of weeks ago...and it seemed to work a little bit better there.  But the IDEA of Space Sharks certainly does have its charms. 

Anyhoo...Hal talks Kyle into going along with them...mainly because he doesn't completely trust them yet...but he does trust Kyle to keep an eye on them.  Which is actually a decent idea, and I'm surprised that Hal came up with it.  Which is more or less what Carol says, as she watches Kyle pack up the contents of his apartment.  Kyle doesn't understand why she is being so snotty about Hal, and frankly neither do I.  Just for a change of pace...let's have a hero and a heroine actually HAVE a love life!  It certainly worked for Ralph and Sue.  It worked for Clark and Lois too, until DC decided to mess with it. 

So...Kyle goes flying off with the cute little new Guardians, to the ends of the Universe, where they discover a large bloated red...thing, that they call the Anomaly!  Other ships and other cultures are there taking notes, but they all cut and run when they see the Guardians show up.  This suprises them, until Kyle points out that practically everyone is scared spitless by them, thanks to the antics of the OLD Guardians.  Then this large fellow named Exeter shows up, he is the Guardian of the Anomaly, and he tells them in no uncertain terms to take a hike.  Naturally, they have to argue.  Naturally, they have to fight.  Naturally, the Anomaly reacts and stuff starts to blow up.

Naturally. 

This really isn't bad.  I found Kyle to be a bit too jaded and cranky for my tastes, but on the other hand, I suppose that can be a natural reaction for someone who's world has literally been turned inside out.  I do find that these new Guardians seem to be awfully up to date on modern idioms and methods of expressing themselves...you would think that their forms of communication would be a bit more...archaic.  But that's just my taste.  Maybe the ring translates them into contemporary phraseology.  However, for a first issue, with new writers and artists, it wasn't bad at all.  I am certainly sufficiently intrigued to hang around and see what happens next. 

Stuff I Bought

An...interesting week, to be sure.

Batman @ Batgirl #21

And so, we continue with the aftermath of Damian's death, and the way that Batman is dealing with it.  It seems to depend a great deal on who is writing the story, whether Batman is doing a decent job of coping, or losing his marbles completely.  This falls into the lost marbles category. 

This takes place just before Batgirl decides to kill her own brother, who TOTALLY deserved it, and who isn't dead at all...but anyway, Barbara is still dealing with her own problems, not the least of which is the whole deal with the Joker in the Batcave.  So, she has apparently removed the Bat insignia from her costumer.  She shows up to fight crime, and both times, Batman shows up too, and wipes the floor with the badguys before disappearing before Barbara can have a heart-to-heart talk.  So she follows him to the Bat Cave.

Oddly enough, he seems the most upset that she has removed her little bat insignia.  Bruce is obviously having...issues.  She tries to reach out, she even offers to wear the Robin suit herself, which would have been rather interesting, but naturally, Batman just shuts her out and tells her to get lost.  So she does.

I thought that Peter Tomasi did the absolute best story of Damian's death...but these more recent crossovers, between Batman and everyone else, have been decent, but are starting to get on my nerves a little.  I understand that in Comic Book Time, not all that much time has passed...but in our Time, it has been months.  Just bring him back already, or have Bruce get a grip!  Sheesh!

Batwoman #21

This was rather fabulous actually.  A story told from the point of view of Killer Croc, and darned if I don't have the tiniest smidgeon of sympathy for him.  The underground group of mutants or whatever, who rescued him, want him to be their king, and he's got a nice girlfiriend, but doesn't really think he's cut out for the whole leader thing...especially since offing Bat People, could bring a whole world of hurt down on his head. 

Very nicely done indeed.

Birds of Prey #21

Strix is fighting the other Talon guy.  I haven't been reading Talon, so I don't know what his schtick is, but these two are the GOOD Talons.  It's not bad actually.  Canary is still beating herself up over having been so mistaken about Starling, and Condor is consoling her.  I actually don't mind Canary and Condor getting together.  Batgirl in the meantime, is trying to rescue Strix.  Some other stuff happens. 

Also not bad at all.

Fables #130

This rather took me out of my comfort zone. I was all set for the sequel to Bigby's death, and how Snow White deals with it, and Teresa coming back, and we get sidetracked into a story about the two former wood puppets of Gepetto's who became human and had a kid.  The Fables are moving back into the castle, and she goes exploring and gets threatened by some giant rats. 

I guess that's scary, because nobody believes her...but man...that kid was ANNOYING! 

Just some filler.  Not terrible, but not all that great either.

Green Lanterns: New Guardians 321

Well...that was different.


Wonder Woman #21

God, I love this artwork by Cliff Chiang.  He could draw all of my books and I'd be as happy as a clam.

So, the evil First Born shows up, and Hera is taken aback, because he's being so mean to her, and she was the one who loved him and saved his life.  He isn't in the least bit grateful, and is trying to kill off Zola, her baby and everyone else.  He really IS a complete jackass.  Diana shows up, and they start beating the crap out of each other. 

Zola is being chased by Cassandra who isn't very nice either.  Then Lennox shows up and does his best to help Diana, but it isn't enough, until Orion shows up and starts whaling away too.  I am madly in love with Orion, because he looks and acts so totally like Guy Gardner in this book, that it isn't funny.   He grabs everyone, and gets Mother Box to make him a boomtube, except that First Born is holding the tube open at one end, which will cause it to explode...which is bad.  Lennox sacrifices himself to save them, and they all end up on New Genesis, which should be interesting.

Interesting indeed.  I cannot say how much I prefer THIS version of Wonder Woman to the one who shows up in Justice League, and is busy sucking face with Clark.  This Diana is fabulous.  That Diana...isn't. 

Vibe #5

I may be the only person other than Scipio who is buying this, but it really isn't bad.  He reminds me just the tiniest bit of the first version of Jaime Reyes, aka Blue Beetle, in that he is young, unsure of himself, and trying to do the best that he can without really knowing what is going on. 

He has rescued Gypsy and is tryiing to help her, but is being attacked by the Suicide Squad and his own side, because Waller says so.  I know that Amanda is supposed to be ruthless and pragmatic, but THIS version of Waller is a nutcase. 

It's ok, and they capture them both, and I want to see how he gets out of this.  So, not terrible really.



But man, more and more each day, I find myself missing the REAL DC Universe.

Oh Hal

Gosh I just love running pictures of my favorite Lanterns.  It saves me from having to do any actual WORK, such as coming up with a premise and presenting it.  Instead, I can just find a picture of Hal and his amazing buttocks.



God, bless you, Gil Kane!

Oh Guy

For no particular reason, other than it is a Monday, it is a beautiful day, especially after all the rain...and because this just sums up one of the reasons that I love Guy so much.




His unabashed joy in pummeling people. 

Heck, his unabashed joy in just about everything.  Granted, this was during his "brain-dead" period, when he was basically an 8-year old kid in an adult body.  But where practically all the other heroes were so goshdarned serious...Guy always managed to glean a certain amount of fun out of being a hero.  Or anti-hero.  Or whatever. 

Plus, it drove Hal crazy.

Green Lantern Corps #21

Well!  That was...not bad at all.  It ties in quite nicely with  the new Green Lantern book, and focuses on John, Yyra and Salaak.  It even has Shorm and Soranik in it, which is nice.  Sadly, unlike the blurb, it does NOT have Guy Gardner in it, and I never got to find out what it is that sends him to the Red Side.

Dagnabit!

Here, we learn why Kilowog has to take over for Salaak.  Salaak, was always the right-hand man of the Guardians, and he feels both betrayed and as the betrayer.  Many of the other Lanterns see him as carrying out the Guardians evil wishes, so he feels that he can no longer serve as he did.  Soranik, fortunately sticks up for him, which is a good thing, because I love Salaak.

The new Guardians are a bit bemused by his feelings.  They are certainly better than the OLD Guardians, but I am detecting a certain amount of hubris among this bunch as well.

Meanwhile, John and Fatality/Yrra are off doing their thing, and come across some rather nasty fellows doing their best to blow up a planet, or at least a goodly portion of it.  John decides that HE is the only one who can blow planets up, and they give chase, and things do explode, but not all of it, and the dastardly ones are actually Shape Changers!  Whodathunk?   There is also a nod to the plot bit in Green Lantern, where everyone's rings cut out of power for a second or two...and then come back on.  Oh, that can't be good.

Also, for some reason, probably due to the whole Third Army shenanigans, the sight of Green Lanterns has practically everyone in the universe spooked.  Well...not earth, but it takes a LOT to spook earth.  But everywhere else that was visited by Volthoom and his crew is naturally, a little on the wary side.  Also some new Lanterns are chosen.

A decent issue for setting things up.  The art by Bernard Chang is quite nice, and Robert Venditti does a good job with John and Yrra, and the other Lanterns.  Too bad there isn't any Guy in it, but what can you do?

Wonderful Wednesdays

Actually of course, it is Thursday, but Wednesday still was a fairly decent day for new comics.  Of course I also say that just about every week.  I'm pretty easy to please.  Most of the time.

Batman #21

This is Scott Snyder's take on Batman's first year as a hero, in the new 52 Universe, and as usual, it was very very good.  I really do like Greg Capullo's artwork, and I would love to snabble him for Green Lantern!    This is a young Bruce Wayne, pre-Robin Batman, and Alfred of course, is fabulous.  I didn't even know that he had an uncle!  And look, Edward Nigma!  

I LOVE the Riddler! 

Much more than I love the Red Hood, but his plots seem sufficiently nefarious to hold my interest. 

I liked this a lot.

Batman: Li'l Gotham #2 and #3

I am as usual, a little bit late to this book, but gosh darn it...it's adorable.  So...so adorable.  The art is sensational, and the stories are fun, and this is something that can be shared so well with kids and adults alike.  You need to hook them early in the comic book habit!

Egad...so CUTE!

Constantine #4

I wasn't really sure about this book, since I was an old Hellblazer fan...but it's not bad.  Not bad at all.  The artwork is very nice, and the story has captured John's sangfroid rather well.  I believe that this is all going to be leading into Trinity War fairly soon, which is ok. 

Good.

Demon Knights #21

I also like this book a lot, and it is primarily because I like this book, that I am not having hysterics over Robert Venditti writing for Green Lanterns. 

If I can't have the Secret Six, I can enjoy this motley crew of villains and heroes doing their best to outmaneuvre each other, and possibly do a little bit of good on the side. 

They are after the grail, and with Jason Blood's help have figured out a doorway.  Ystin and our favorite Amazon make up, there is a fat joke about Horsewoman's steed, and Vandal Savage gets a minor comeuppance. 

It's all good!


Green Lantern Corps #21

Again...not bad!

Superman Unchained #1

This was decent.  I don't really like Jim Lee's arwork all that much.  It's ok, but it leaves me a little bit cold.   But Superman does his super sort of thing, and saves the day, and confronts Lex, who is actually pretty fabulous...and does more of his super stuff.  Lois's dad, has set up a secret base under the sea, and it is all very intriguing.  There is a poster inside the book, which I couldn't figure out how to read around, which was annoying.  But it is nice that they are actually paying some attention to Superman's 75th anniversary.  Now if they would just drop this whole idiotic idea with Clark and Diana and get him back with Lois, I would be perfectly happy. 

Because as usual, it is all about what I want.

Thor: God of Thunder #9

Dagnabit, this just keeps getting better.  Gorr is still building his giant bomb,so that he can destroy all of the Gods at once.  There is a certain amount of speculation over what that black goo that gives him his powers is actually composed of.  And you have old cranky All-Father Thor, who is a hoot, present day Thor, and young and stupid Thor...who is also a hoot.  And who rides a space Shark.

It's a poignant moment. 

Damn, this is fun.

So...a pretty decent week all around.  I hope that you all enjoyed YOUR books as well!

I Miss Wally

Dang it.  It has suddenly occured to me, that there are a whole passel of characters that DC has placed into limbo since the start of the whole 52 Universe.  Well, actually it occured to me quite some time ago...but it only dawned on me more recently that I really really MISS some of those characters.

I miss Booster, but at least he is still occasionally showing up, most recently in All-Star Western with Jonah Hex.  They work surprisingly well together actually.  I still miss Ted Kord, Ralph and Sue Dibny, Dmitir and Gavril, the Rocket Reds, as much as ever, but there are a lot of younger newer characters out there too.  Stephanie and Cass of course, Donna Troy, Connor Hawke and heck, I even miss Damian Wayne.

But man, I do miss Wally. 

Wally was one of the younger crowd, in the Teen Titans, and a sidekick, but dammit, he's been around forEVER, and it's just not fair.   I like Barry, and I'm glad that they brought him back...but did they have to get rid of Wally to do so?  Geoff Johns managed to bring back Hal and NOT kill off Kyle, even though that would have been the easy thing to do.  Instead, Kyle is still alive and kicking and has his own book! 

I suppose that Wally committed the cardinal sin of getting married and having kids...which is the kiss of death apparently.  Marriage, and kids, and being an adult are verbooten at DC these days.  Which is odd, when you come to think of it, because they are trying to appeal to a younger crowd...except that NONE of their books are particularly kid friendly, and the ones that were have been cancelled.  You don't suddenly wake up on your 18th birthday and immediately go out and start buying comic books.  Well...maybe some people do, but comics are usually something that you ease into at a younger age.

It also seems that a large part of the comic-book reading audience are older.  The ones who can actually remember the Silver Age. The ones who experienced the 90's for God's sake.  At least, I can console myself that they didn't kill him off.  But I sure do miss all of my lovely lovely continuity.  Trying to make sense of the current history is just so...frustrating.  It supposedly all happened within the last five years, but even over the last year and a half, it is confusing.  Different stories contradict other stories. 

There also seem to be a LOT of disgruntled writers...which can't be a good thing either.  I know that DC seems to be doing its level best to recreate the Marvel books of the 1990's, but is that really the best idea?  Bob Harras may be a perfectly nice person, but there was probaby a REASON that the Marvel bullpen rejoiced when he left. 

Marvel still drives me nuts, and I don't particularly want to read the fifteen Avengers books out there, but there are some decent books coming out, such as Young Avengers, and Hawkeye and Thor and Journey Into Mystery.  Still miss Nextwave though.  But at least they haven't dumped all of their history.  Except in the Ultimate books, which when you come to think of it, was the precursor to the 52 Universe, with the same characters, but sans all of the continuity.  I don't particularly like the Ultimate books either.  They had their chance to tell NEW stories, and just retold all the old ones, but bloodier. 

Man, I'm cranky today.

Lord knows Wally is no Green Lantern.  I mean, just LOOK at that behind!  But he was funny, and he was smart...at least occasionally...and he did some amazing things.  We need more Flashes.  We need the Justice Society, and the JLI.  We need Ma Hunkel.  We need Power Girl and Huntress back.

At least Geoff Johns brought back G'Nort.  And for that I thank him.

Bambi!

This has nothing at all to do with comics...but I do think that it's cool.  Yesterday, I was visiting in Granby, ct, and my sweet Baboo and I walked around the corner of the barn, and there on the grass, lay a doe...and a brand new baby fawn.  We looked at them...and they looked at us.  They were maybe 15 feet away, so we backed away slowly, as the fawn stood up on its tiny wobbly little legs.

Wow! 

Sometimes...sometimes it IS nice to put down the computer and the books and go outside!

Green Lantern #21

And so, the Geoff Johnsless era begins!   And it was...ok, I guess.  It was a little confusing, since we begin with a battle that is going on in the near future, but then we end up in the present,  and I'm not really sure exactly why.

But the near future is scary, because all of the Lanterns are losing power in their rings against whatever anoymous threat they are fighting, and they can't recharge because the Central Battery is dead.  That IS quite a pickle to be in!  Maybe Guy was smart going over to the Red Lanterns after all! 

But in the present, Hal and Carol are back on earth, and Hal is trying to charm Carol, and Carol is being all cranky and complaining about him going off to space...which is exactly what these two have been doing for the past 20 years or so.  I had rather thought that they would come to realize that they DO love each other, and not fall back into those tired old tropes...but I suppose the new writer,  Robert Venditti has to find a way to dump Carol, at least for a while, so that Hal can go off and lead the few remaining Green Lanterns.

And naturally, that is what he does.  At least, he shows up on Oa, and meets with the NEW new new Guardians, who are hanging out with Kyle, and exploring all the toy boxes in the basement on Oa...or at least that's how it appears.  But since they are new at this, and a bit unsure, they decide that Hal is the one to lead the Corps, while they fly around the Universe, trying to find themselves.  Presumably, they will be doing this with Kyle. 

When Hal demurs that he's probably not the best choice, Kyle snickers, and tosses in a few bon mots about Parallax, at which point Hal snarls that he should stop "helping" him.  Which made ME snicker for a minute.  But their little blue minds are made up, and Hal flies off to find Kilowog.  Kilowog incidentally is going to be performing Salaak's duties, presumably because Salaak is feeling just a little creeped out by Guardians at the moment, and who can blame him?  Naturally, Hal just jumps in and starts Doing things, such as sending out all of the imprisoned rings, out to find new owners.

Kilowog isn't happy, but Hal just fluffs it off.  However, at precisely that moment, who should show up, but Larfleeze!  And his constructs.  For some reason, he thought it was a good idea to invade and take Oa...which seems just a little ridiculous even for Larfleeze.  So naturally, they all have to fight him.  But odd things are happening to the various Lanterns, for a minute they are full, and then they are empty and then they are full again, which I assume is some foreshadowing of the problems that show up at the beginning.  Obviously, the old Guardians forgot to pay the electric bill. 

So...they are fighting Larfleeze, and the final page, is some of the new recruits showing up, in the five minutes since Hal let the rings loose.  And coincidentally, these are some of the newbies that showed up at the beginning. 

It's a little disjointed.  It's an ok story, per se, but the flow is a bit off, and the art isn't nearly as sublime as that of Doug Mahnke or Ivan Reis. 

Still...it is Green Lanterns, and so I'll be sticking around to see what happens.  It is a perfectly adequate story, and I would like to know why the power Battery isn't working, but I miss having Guy around.  John is in it, and a few of my favorites show up, but don't have any dialogue. 

Could be worse, I guess.

Stuff that I Bought

Well, I missed last week's books, but apparently I only missed Justice League.  Not a whole lot more this week, but enough to make it worthwhile.

Action Comics #21

I was a little apprehensive after Grant Morrison left, but I've enjoyed Andy Diggle's tale of Superman vs Lex Luthor a lot more than I expected to.  Alas, it seems as though this will be the last of his work, since Lobdell will be taking over, I believe.

Lex had come up with Kryptonian virus, and was doing his best to portray Superman as a menace to society, but as usual, was outsmarted...mainly because he can never understand true altruism.  Lois is fairly awesome in this as well.

It was a nice story.  And sometimes I like that.


Fairest #16

We are visiting a different neck of the woods, and it has Prince Charming as the local Maharaja, which is interesting.  Not a whole heck of a lot happens in this issue, but it is still a decent read, and the art is pretty.

Green Lantern #21

Well!

Justice League of America #4

Seriously Geoff...you gave up Hal for this?

Ollie has managed to blackmail his way onto the team.  Catwoman is under cover.  Stargirl is being rebellious.  Amanda Waller is being crafty.  Everybody fights Ivo's monsters, and Catwoman gets shot in the head, ala Ted Kord.

I can't say that I believe it in the least, but it is a rather shocking moment.

Damn it,  I miss Ted.

I don't like the art very much, and I don't like the characters all that much either.  Actually I DO like the characters, but nobody seems to be acting like themselves, with the possible exception of Hawkman.  I'm not sure that I'm going to keep up with this, but as usual, I keep hoping that THIS month it will finally be good.  I'm still waiting.


 Sorry for the snark.  Green Lantern tomorrow.

Woohoo!

I am so glad!  Comics Alliance is back, and posting, and it is as though it never left!  I'm doing a happy dance in my brain...since I can't do it with my feet. 

Through various arcane  maneuvers...which I only briefly read about, they were somehow bought, and now they are back, and seem to have all of their old writers, and I could just squee!

I  can now get my weekly fix of Best Cos-players, gorgeous artwork, and Chris Sims kvetching about Funky Winkerbean.

Oh Joy!

Slightly Anxious

Back from vacation, back to work, and now I am worrying about the future of the Green Lanterns.  Heck, I'm a bit in a tizzy about how things are going at DC period.  They don't seem to be treating their writers very well lately.  I don't know if that is Dan Didio's fault, or Bob Harras's fault, or if there are other corporate muck-a-mucks involved, but I DO know that a heck of a lot of awfully good writers are apparently fed up and then some. 

It is not encouraging. 

Not that Marvel can necessarily hold their heads up high either.  There are some good books coming out, and I am wandering around their aisles, but I'm pretty burned out on Avengers and X-Men lately, although Hawkeye has been fun, and Young Avengers is a hoot.  Still miss Nextwave however. 

But still...I have always known that Geoff Johns was going to be there on Green Lanterns.  Except that he has told his tale, and now it's over, and I'm a little on the terrified side.  Hal is back in the bosom of the Corps, and all of the members who were mad at him, are pretty much dead now.  John is going to be the star of Green Lantern Corps, which is fine, I like John, and he has been neglected for too long.  Simon Baz is apparently going to mostly be hanging out with the Justice League, which actually seems like a good idea...since the other Earth Lanterns are pretty busy.

But where does that leave Guy?   I know that he is supposed to be in the Red Lanterns now, but quite frankly, I simply cannot STAND the Red Lanterns.  It was an interesting concept for a little while, but it seems to me, that it has outlived its novelty...and purpose.  And yes, Guy WAS a Red Lantern, and it was a pretty fabulous story, but then he was cured, which was good, because he HATED being a Red Lantern, and was extremely thankful to be rid of it. 

Which is something that I wonder about whether or not the new writers even are going to take into consideration.  Plus he's not the old brain-dead Guy either.  So, you can understand my feelings of trepidation. 


Guy is back, and he should be Green.

I'm Back!

I have actually taken vacation time...I'm not used to this sort of thing!  I am sunburned, tired, and ate too much and drank too much, but sweated off most of it, and had myself one heck of a week.

No computer, no television, and my phone died after a couple of days, and I forgot the charger thingie.  No newspapers.  It was...rather nice actually.  Although of course I missed reading all of my favorite blogs, and I have a lot of newspaper reading to catch up on.  Apparently the stock Market dropped a ton, and I didn't even know about it. 

It rather puts things into perspective. 

But just think of how nice it will be on Wednesday, picking up my books again.  I hope you all had a lovely week!

Back to work tomorrow though.

Urgh.