An...Interesting Week

Well, Thursday, so that means reviews.  There were some good...nay excellent books, some so-so books, and one outright fraud of a book.  But it's my own fault I suppose.

So let's get to it.

Aquaman #24

And once more, we get an origin of Aquaman.  Lonely-but-brave Lighthouse Keeper is saved by a hot mermaid, and she gives birth to Arthur, who thinks that he's descended from the King of Atlantis, but doesn't want to rule...blah blah blah. 

After all the brouhaha of the last issues, Arthur wakes up after six months or something, in Antarctica, accompanied by none other than Vulko, the faithful servant who incidentally started the whole war between Atlantis and the surface world.  But he's got STUFF to tell to his King, who has to get all frozen and then finds out that what he thought was not exactly true.

Well! 

This puts a whole new twist on things!  If Arthur is actually descended by King Atlan's obnoxious brother Orrin, then maybe his brother really IS the rightful King of Atlantis, so he can take back the throne, and the Surface World can just put that in their pipe and smoke it, and Arthur and Mera can go back to their lighthouse, and hang out with Salty the Sea Dog, and taunt Batman in the Justice League or something.  I would be up for that, because I much prefer Aquaman swimming around on a giant Sea Horse doing deeds of derring do, rather than administrative work in Atlantis. 

But that would be much too simple of course.

I actually rather liked this, although it certainly is a bit of a puzzler, and Geoff Johns has the usual twist.  Oh, and those hideous creatures from the rift?  Cousins.  That will be awkward at dinner parties and holidays!


Pretty decent, all things considered.  The art was nice.


Flash #24

Well, this seems to be the farewell issue for Manapul and Buccellato, who are going to be going on to other things.  Dang.  I'm going to miss them, they've made the Flash a beautifully drawn and well-written book.

The Reverse Flash turns out to be Iris's baby brother, who uses his ill-gotten powers to go back in time and try and kill their father for being mean to him.  Barry, manages to figure out how to stop him, and things all wrap up fairly neatly...at least for an issue or so.  But it clears the decks for the new crew, which is a nice thing for them to do, and they haven't destroyed the toys in the toybox, so there is actually something for the new team to play with, which is always considerate. 

It is hinted at, that going back in time and trying to "fix" things...never works, which is something that the X-Men could certainly learn from.  I am also thinking that this was a hint about the whole Flashpoint and creation of a new and awful  52 Universe.  But that may be simply wishful thinking on my part.

This was a fine book, and I am going to miss the boys...but I am hopeful about the future.


Jonah Hex #24

I found this issue to be a bit of a hoot.  Palmiotti and Gray managed to cram quite a bit of story into this book, which is appreciated.  Jonah is on trial for killing the terrorist guy, and the Judge is being cranky, but Bruce Wayne pulled out all the stops and got him the best lawyers available, and Jonah is actually being hailed as a hero, for shooting the bad guy and saving untold numbers of innocent people.  He's acquitted, and is characteristically ungrateful to Wayne, who is slightly surprised by all of this.  Also Arkham bums a ride back to the Asylum, but expressed doubt that a Time-Lost man like Jonah can adapt to the present.

Meanwhile, Jonah and his new girlfriend ride out of town on a really nice Motorcycle, where he cuts quite a swath, impressing all the guys and girls at the taverns and such.  They are on their way to one of his buried stashes of gold, and it turns out that it's all worth a ton of money, which makes his new Girlfriend, whose name I can't remember, very very happy.  Jonah doesn't care so much, but he's getting LOTS of sex, so he's pretty happy for the moment.

Then somehow they end up in the middle of some hippie celebration out in the middle of the desert.  I am certainly happy that they are out of Gotham.  And who should show up but John Constantine, and he and Jonah are the only ones who can see these...creatures.  It all looks a bit ominous of course.

Dagnabit, this was pretty darned great.


Justice League 324

Meh.  Evil Superman is being mean to poor Jimmy Olsen, for some reason, and equally obnoxious to Lois...and everyone else that he comes across.  We also get his origin, which is similar to the REAL Superman's except that his Dad was an even bigger dick than Jor El...which is hard to accomplish.

But Black Adam shows up, because he's pissed that these outsiders have come to conquer his world, and he tries to beat up Evil Superman.  So I assume that will be the battle for the next book.  It was nice to see Black Adam, and it is also very nice to see Ivan Reis...but this is not really all that riveting a comic.  I'm already bored with the whole Forever Evil concept, and I'm just counting the months till the whole thing is over, but I keep buying the damn books so that I know what is going on.

That's a stupid reason to keep buying something that I'm not really all that enthralled with.  Perhaps I should stop.

Justice League Dark #24

Again, only so-so.  I like John Constantine, and this was an...okay book, but I'm not in love with it.  John wakes up, only to find himself back in the House of Mystery, wherein he undergoes a journey of self discovery and so on and so forth.  A woman that he thought was Zatanna turns out to be someone called Nightmare Nurse, with whom he had...previous relations or something.

A different version of Swamp Thing shows up too.  Not really quite sure of what is going on, to be perfectly honest.  The art by Mikel Janin is pretty though.


Larfleeze #4

Oh, I am so dumping this book.  I like Giffen and DeMatteis, but seriously, this is just awful.  Larfleeze now IS the battery, which confuses me since I thought all the entities were hanging out inside of Kyle, and his past victims are now alive again and out for revenge...and that's really, all there is.  There is a little bit with Stargrave, which was mildly diverting, but that's about it.

I will not be buying this again...unless Guy is in it, because I'm weak that way.


Red Lanterns #24

Now this I liked!


Sandman #1

Ok, this is the out and out fraud.  I knew that Neil Gaiman is writing a new Sandman book and I was all excited, because I LOVE Sandman, and so I snatched this right off the shelf, and got home and found out that all it was a reprinting of the first chapter of Preludes and Nocturnes.  A wonderful book of course, but a wonderful book that I already have! 

And the rest of the rather thick book was simply page after page of...Ads!

I feel like a complete fool, and DC suckered me but good.  Don't buy this.  It's a complete con, and has nothing to do with the new Sandman book, and quite frankly, DC, you have pissed me off.

Jerks.


Young Avengers #11

So we end on my favorite book of the week.  Yes, even more than reading about Guy Gardner!

Things are coming to a head for our doughty band of teens.  Teddy has been tricked and taken captive by Leah and Mother.  Loki realizes that he's been conned, which doesn't make him happy.  Billy is all set to shoot himself to end the whole problem, so Loki has to confess that he's been lying all along, and they aren't very happy with him.

Noh-varr shaves, which is a good thing.  Prodigy is very very smart.  Oh, and Loki decides that Billy has to become the Demiurge after all, or at least close to it, but he can't help him in his adorable little boy body, and so...

...Odin's Raven!

We have hot teenaged Loki now!

Looking a lot like Tom Hiddleston, to be frank.  I have no problem with that, I think Tom Hiddleston is seriously HAWT!

er...ahem.

Naturally, the others aren't all that thrilled with Loki's shenanigans and Miss America punches him...again.  So does Billy.  And off they go to fight the bad Guys.  Kate is worried that she's too close to turning 21 to be effective with their band of teens, when Noh-Varr points out that he's 21, and she looks a little foolish.

God, I love this book.

So...so fabulous.