Stuff I Bought

There were quite a few books waiting for me at my beloved Comic Book Shop this Wednesday...some pretty fabulous, some okay.  No real clunkers, which is always a relief.

Batman '66, #4

Gosh, I adore this book.  It is unabashedly silly, but since it was inspired by the equally silly, but still beloved 60's television show, there is nothing wrong with that.  Besides, it is a bit of a relief to read something that doesn't have death and maiming in it. 

Bruce and Dick are going to go on a fishing trip!  Naturally, they get distracted, and end up going to London with Alfred, where they manage to save the Crown Jewels from the machinations of the Mad Hatter!  And to top it off, the Mad Hatter had help from none other than the Clock King.  And they're brothers!  Robin has British groupies!  Everyone at Scotland Yard has the same names as their Gotham City cohorts!

It is completely absurd.  And so...so delightful.


Batman and Two-Face #24

This was...pretty good actually.  It features Two-Face, and the return to Gotham of the woman who was responsible for the death of his wife and the scarring of his face. I, not being much of a Bat-Fan, did not know this!  Boy, is she evil!

Poor old Harvey.  Batman is skirmishing around the edges here, the cops are actually competent, and there is a pretty fabulous chase scene. 

Very good.


Batwoman #24

I think that this is the last issue with J.H. Willliams and W. Haden Blackman, who due to the pettiness and stupidity of DC Editorial, are leaving the book.   We do finally get the match-up between Kate and Batman.   The D.E.O. is holding Kate's sister hostage, so that she will do their bidding, and take down Batman.  It has become, as Bones himself says,  a question of Bats being his White Whale.  So they unleash practically every villain that they can find on a hapless and helpless Gotham.

This seems a little extreme...even for a Government agency.  And you thought the NSA was a little out of hand!  Batwoman is sickened by what is going on, but is also terrified for her sister.  Fortunately, her Dad, and Flamebird...uh...Hawkfire...or Flamefire or Hawkbird, who knows...is sneaking in and busting her out, while the D.E.O. is otherwise occupied.  Cameron is busy trying to prove to Maggie that her dick is bigger or something.  It is all a bit extreme. 

The art is lovely as usual, and I don't know if Batman is trying with all of his might here, since he seems to know that Kate isn't necessarily acting of her own volition.  She's cheating just as hard as she can, and who can blame her?  I am actually interested in seeing how this will all end up...but I'm not sure that I want to continue buying this book.  I like Andreyko and all, but still. 

Pretty great, actually.

Birds of Prey #24

Well, Canary's husband is actually alive, and is the source of the power to shut down all superheroes or something, and Condor is reunited reluctantly with his old group, and Barbara and Stryx accept the help of a shadowy benefactor...and I really find that I don't care all that much. 

I like the characters.  I love Barbara and Dinah, and even Stryx is ok.  Condor seems like a nice enough fellow.  But gosh, I miss the real Birds.  Lady Blackhawk, and Barda, and Oracle, and Huntress.  I don't really like this version of Black Canary all that much.  She seems awfully...whiney.

I think that this was...adequate.  But I think I 'm dumping it.

Fables #134

Oooh, Bigby!  Running about in little Big Bad Wolf Heaven.  Dang, I  miss Bigby.  But fortunately, Boy Blue shows up, to sit him down and explain a few things about the Afterlife.  Blue Boy isn't going to be coming back, which is a bit of a shame, but he would like Bigby to tell Stinky and the rest to knock it off with the whole worshipping thing.  Because it seems a pretty good bet that Bigby IS going to be coming back.  He is simply too big of a player.

There is a bit of philosophizing, and musing on the nature of things, and their place in them.  And then Blue Boy moves on, and Bigby has a chance to meet with Dare, which was rather sweet. 

This was nice.  A bit of a breather from all the action and mayhem, and a chance to lay out some of the new plot devices.  I always like the occasional quiet book..it gives the readers a chance to catch their breath.

Very very nice.

Forever Evil: Rogues Rebellion #l

Oh, those loveable Rogues.  These aren't quite the loveable Rogues that I love, but in a pinch they aren't bad.  They aren't all that excited about all the mayhem being unleashed by the Crime Syndicate, and quite frankly, most of them are pretty appalled by the destruction and death.  The Rogues don't want to rule the world, they just want to knock over a few banks and live it up and tease the Flash, mainly.  And you know what?  That is a perfectly good motivation.  You can't have EVERY Villain being the Joker or Lex Luthor!

Central City has been pretty much devastated by Grodd, but Cold discovers some cops chained up and they set them free, and settle a few...misunderstandings.  Then they run back to the hospital where Golden Glider is, only to find that the Crime Syndicate has sent some baddies to whip them into line.

Blowing up the hospital may have been a severe mistake on the Crime Syndicates part.

This wasn't bad at all.

Green Lantern: New Guardians #24

Boy Howdy!  All sorts of things are actually happening!  The plot is being advanced, and repurcussions, and plot!  Wow!  The art doesn't excite me, but I can forgive it, because Kyle is shown to be pretty damned awesome.  And as usual, Hal is being an idiot. 

Well no, Hal isn't an idiot.  But Hal is...Hal, and his first instinct is to jump in feet first...or head first...and just start whaling on people.  He is not a strategist.  Neither is Kyle, but he's doing his best. 

All of the various entities, with the exception of the Butcher and Parallax, have decided to jump inside of Kyle  Naturally this makes him a little uncomfortable.  The New New Guardians, not being complete jerks like their brothers, also step in, and try to help.  They manage to bluff the various Entities into backing off a little bit so that Kyle can reassert his control.  And they send everyone off to Ysmault, where they are going to get such a warm and fuzzy welcome from Guy.

Meanwhile, John and his little ragtag bunch are out in the middle of space with their powers running out, when John says "nok, nok!".  And the Indigo's planet suddenly appears!  John even tries to explain that "knock, knock" is a joke, but nobody gets it, which I found to be rather hilarious and endearing.  It's always fun when you have different cultures and mores, interacting. 

Anyhoo...Kyle now knows what the Entities know, and he says that they have to help Relic.

Oh sheesh! 

I liked this a lot.  The whole "Lights Out" story has been fairly compelling, and a pretty good effort for the new guys, right out of the starting blocks.  And it is pretty short and self-containted, which is another advantage.  I'm dying to see how this all works out.

Forever Evil: Justice League of America, #8

Well, all of the heroes aren't actually dead...but we all knew that already.  But they are imprisoned in a vast and deadly place, which plays upon their fears and weaknesses, and Star Girl and J'onn J'onnz are the only ones who seem to have their wits about them.  J'onn goes down through the various levels, accompanied by someone who appears to be Jason from Firestorm, but probably isn't, and discovers Wonder Woman, Superman, Captain Marvel, Flash, and Simon Baz/Green Lantern.  It is a cunning trap!

Oh, and Courtney gets out, simply by walking through the wall, which I find a bit...odd.  Once out,she decides she'd rather be in, since the whole world is basically on fire.

This wasn't terrible. Not great, but not terrible.  It's always nice to see J'onn.  But I'm getting a bit bored with the whole Forever Evil thing, and I sure wish that it would wind up.  But I don't see that happening for another 14 months or so.

Wonder Woman #24

Oh, all sorts of things are happening.  Apollo has the First Born, on his knees chained up on Olympus, which is probably something that he is going to regret shortly.  And he calls everyone together, which means that Diana has to take the place of Ares, since she killed him and all.  So Apollo sends Hermes to get her.  And Diana, and Zola and Hera all yell at him.  He does point out that he was only doing his duty, and fulfilling a promise, and that he was trying to protect the baby from Hera...and they have all forgiven HER!

He has a point. 

I like Hermes the best anyway. 

So Diana shows up and there is a bit of tension.  She's not happy about taking War's place, nobody is happy about it, but they feel it has to be done.  And poor Strife, is pissed as heck.  Turns out that she was pretty close to War, and she's not happy either. 

Lovely.  Just lovely.


Hawkeye #13

Not a whole lot happens, but what does, is so nice.  Barney shows up, they have a funeral for the Grilling Guy from the roof, Clint is still in hot water with Jessica, Kate leaves with the dog, and it is something of a recap of events, but still it is just so damned charming. 

I love this book.