Slighty Late Reviews

You know, for a Fifth week, this past Wednesday was actually pretty fabulous!  Thank Goodness for Annuals!  I love Annuals!

And so we go.

Batman Annual #2

Gosh, I liked this.  Scott Snyder is actually turning me into a Bat Fan...which is something that I never thought I would say.  Although, to be sure, Batsie isn't really the Hero of this particular tale.  That honor actually falls to a brand new, wet-behind-the-ears recruit at the notorious Arkham Asylum.

Batman shows up, handcuffed and ready to try and escape, so that he can give them feedback on their security.  But in the middle of all of this, young Eric, a brand new orderly from Metropolis discovers that not all of the inmates at the Asylum are super-Criminals.  There is one elderly lady, named the Anchoress, whose crime was actually more of an accident, and who is there because she is a penitant.  Unfortunately for her, the newer and flashier inmates get all of the attention.  This is a state of affairs that she atributes to Batman...and to be quite frank...she's right.

So, she's out to make Batman's life as miserable as he has made hers, and she has the powers to back it up.  She plays some brutal mind games with him, but you still feel sympathy for her, and young Eric is the one who manages to get her calmed down,and to get help for her, which is all that she wanted.  Batman looks like a bit of a thug, which is an unusual take, and one that I was interested to see.

Great Stuff.

Batman Inc #13

Well, here is the final confrontation between Bruce and Talia, as seen through the eyes of Jim Gordon, and with Bruce Wayne  beaten up and a bit broken down, telling him what happened.  Leviathan is going to town, and all of the various Bat Guys are running around doing their Bat thing, and Bruce and Talia have their last battle, and between the kissing, the poisonings and the sword fights, it is pretty spectacular. 

And just as she is about to win, who should show up but Jason, who gives her the box, in exchange for Bruce's life...and Talia thinks she's won.  Except of course, she hasn't, and who should show up but Kathy Kane, who shoots her right between the eyes!  Woohoo! 

Also, there is Batcow.  I love Batcow. 

And that's it, except that Talia's and Damians bodies are stolen by none other than Ra's al Ghul, and that is how Grant Morrison leaves his toy box...neatened up and ready for the other kids to play...which is rather nice of him, actually. 

Also great stuff.

Flash Annual #2

Double Woohoo!  Barry and Hal!  Finally! 

There is a bit of a flashback, with Barry trying to save some kidnapped children, when he runs across Hal, who is doing the same thing.  They are initially a bit startled to run into each other, but manage to work together rather nicely, even encountering some Aliens who are the ones kidnapping the kids, for their Arena.  They manage to get the kids and get out of it, but Barry discovers that Hal did some fast talking, and the two of them end up getting kidnapped themselves, to fulfill the promise made by Hal, way back when.

Barry is not particularly happy about this...but hey, that's how Hal rolls.  Hal is also running the Green Lanterns now and figures this is a good way to finally take this bunch of miscreants down. So they do the usual "fighting to the death in the arena for the amusement of the masses" thing, and of course are doing pretty damned good, till they find that they can't fight together.  They take Hal out of the mix, and Flash's powers are failing, and things look pretty dismal.  Fortunately, Hal actually USES his brain and his willpower, and makes his Ring, to to...Barry! 

Barry is a bit overwhelmed by the power of the ring, but uses his Flashy powers to get up to speed on how it all works, and with every bit of willpower that he can summon...blasts the giant Bad Guy right in the nuts.

It is spectacular.  Heck, even Hal is impressed. 

The rest of the Lantern Corps shows up, and puts the handcuffs on all of the baddies.  Hal and Barry do a bit of bonding,and Barry realizes that there is a lot more to Ring-Slinging than just standing there and pointing.  I always enjoy it when one of the other heroes realizes just how difficult it is to control a Green Lantern ring.  Very very few people can actually do it...so I'm rather impressed that the Flash was able to do a well as he did.

The art is cute, and the story is fun, and I love these sorts of stories.  There is also a nice second story at the back, with Barry zipping around doing his thing, and how all of his actions intertwine, which is always nice with a speedster.  Again, an  excellent book this week.

Red Lanterns #22

More on this tomorrow...but I have to say...I was all worried about the change in writers, and I have to admit that there is NOTHING to be worried about.

Daredevil #29

To all of the people who told me to pick up this book...I finally did, and it is sensational!  Chris Samnee on the art, and Mark Waid on the story. 

More Sons of the Serpent stuff, all kinds of mind games, and betrayals, and just cool cool stuff going on.  I never really liked Daredevil all that much, because he seemed like such a Gloomy Gus half of the time, but THIS Daredevil, is a bit on the swashbuckling side. 

It's...fun.  Damn, I missed fun!