Stuff I Bought

That is such a classier title than "reviews" don't you think?  Not a bad week...not a bad week at all.  Although I have noticed that my list is continuing to shrink.


Adventures of Superman #13

Dammit, I can't believe they are going to cancel this book.  It's the only one with the REAL Superman!   We have a perfectly charming story by B.Clay Moore, and Gabriel Rodriguez, that begins with Superman fighting...and beating Metallo.  In all of the melee, a lone rogue reporter has been watching Superman, Lois, Jimmy and...Clark, and comes to a startling conclusion!  Is Superman really all that altruistic?  What is REALLY going on at the Daily Planet?

The reporter for a low-brow gossip rag, goes to interview various Superman incarcerated villains, and naturally, a prison break takes place, and Metallo grabs him as a hostage.  Superman is right on top of things, and I have to say that the prison at Stryker's is a whole better than Arkham!   Superman also frees the reporter Hobson, and defeats Metallo...again.

And Hobson's conclusion?  That Superman is working for the Daily Planet, and is a creation to sell more newspapers!  Superman's little chat with him after he saves his life changes his mind, and he writes the article of his life, and it all ends happily.  Just as a comic book should.

This was practically a perfect Superman story. He is kind, and heroic, and not a jerk.  I loved it.


Batman and Ra's Al Ghul #32

Well, Batman and Frankenstein have tracked old Ra's to where Nanda Parbat USED to be, and lo and behold, there is another Lazarus pit.  In fact it is the UBER Lazarus pit!  Ra's as usual spends a whole lot of time monologuing, until Batman has had enough,and the gloves are off!  He does manage to run off with Damian's body, and is eventually joined by Frankenstein... who isn't in the best of shape.  Then they fight soe more, and Batman is really really cranky.

The there is a flash...and Glorious Godfrey of Apokolips shows up? 

I did not see that coming.

I almost always enjoy the team of Tomasi and Gleason, and this is no exception.


Batwoman #32

There was a lot of smaller things going on in this issue.  Maggie is off fighting with her ex over custody, and Kate is stuck in Gotham.  Then she runs into her old flame from the Academy.  Kate had to resign because of her proclivities, but her old flame Sophie stayed in the closet and is now a colonel! Kate is torn between resentment and maybe a little bit of desire.  She's not sure. 

Meanwhile there is a Black Widow type who is roaming around, and she may actually be a real vampire.  Is this Nocturna?  Her former stepdaugher resents her enormously and she hires a goon to take her out.  He shows up on the last page rocking a new suit and calling himself "Killshot"...which is actually a little ridiculous. 

I mean, Deadshot works for some reason, but Killshot? 

Not sure.

Not a bad book.  A lot of new ideas are introduced, so it is a bit of a low action book, but perfectly fine.

Fables #141

This is the last arc of  Fables, as it is drawing to a close soon.  That will be a shame, because I have really enjoyed it. There were a few misses, but for the most part, it has been a lot of fun. 

There seems to be a conflict brewing between Snow White and Rose Red. Rose, is recreating Camelot, which at first glance seems like a fine thing to do.  Except that you can never apparently escape the original tropes that defined Camelot, and if Rose is King Arthur, then Snow is supposed to be... the villain?  Except that neither one of them really wants to go up against each other.  But there is a lot of things swirling beneath the surface, and plots and plans by the 13th floor. 

Gepetto  is up to his old tricks, magical beings have been taken, and power struggles are going on all over the place.  Oh, and Bigby might be back.

Good stuff indeed.


Wonder Woman #32

Well things are really starting to hit the fan. Hephaestus shows up with all the boy children of the Amazons, while Artemis and Eros are sent into Hell to see what the heck is going on.  Meanwhile Eris is sucking up to First Born in an attempt to actually survive all of this. 

Having taken care of Death, First Born decides to go after life, which is apparently Demeter.  There is a lot of fighting of course, and finally Diana shows up to hold the line against First Born,who seems to actually have a bit of grudging respect for her. 

So they fight, but she is taken, while the rest of them make their escape.  They are all pretty depressed, when who should show up but Orion! 

I have to say that I love this version of Orion to death.  He and Diana make such a better couple than Diana and Superman! 

Fabulous as usual.


Daredevil #4

God, I love this book. 

Last issue, Matt had managed to gain access to the Owl's lair, with a face subpoena, while the Shroud also snuck in.  The Owl pushed one of those buttons that opened up a firepit, which is certainly something that every well-prepared villain should have  in their lair.  I 'd like one myself, actually.  It looks like Matt is about to be barbecued,when the Shroud tosses him his cane, and the lights go out,and the two of them make short work of the Owl's goons.  Except that the Owl is taken hostage by the Shroud, while Matt makes his escape.

Matt is shown telling all of this to Kirsten.  It is in an outdoor cafe, and people keep coming up and taking selfies with Matt, and making faces and stuff.  I found this to be oddly amusing. But on to the rest of the plot.

The Owl cons the Shroud into taking him to the lone holdout of the Silicon Valley start-ups that he hasn't been able to acquire, because they've come up with some sort of fabulous break-through in fiber optics or something.  In return for access to this lovely new technology, the Owl will give the Shroud the location of his missing girlfriend Julia.  Naturally, this is all a con by the Owl, but the Shroud is blinded by his desperation.

Daredevil figures this all out, and shows up and there is a fight naturally, and while he and the Shroud are battling it out, the Owl sneaks into get the  technology which naturally backfires, and oh, it is just lovely. 
The Shroud as a Batman analogy is a wonderful thing, and Matt manages to get through to him, using his own past problems, and that suicide by SuperVillain is a terrible thing to do.

So...wonderful.


Thor: God of Thunder #23

We continue with present day Thor fighting Roxxon, and basically destroying poor old Broxton, and in the future, fighting with Galactus, over the broken destroyed remains of the Earth.  Thor does the ultimate and dives into a black hole or something to retrieve the terrible black sword that was originally used by Gorr the Godkiller.  Remember him?  He becomes  the NecroThor...Eater of World Eaters.  He tells Galactus to "open wide!"

Heh.

Meanwhile whatshisname, the head of Roxxon, has brought in Ulik and his Trolls to continue to lay waste to Broxton, while he has transformed into a Minotaur.  Thor is really really pissed, and he can finally let loose, so there is some rather profound violence.  Meanwhile  Roz, that nice SHIELD agent, has been shooting Trolls right and left, and she's not particularly happy about it.  But many many hammer blows later, the feds and the Asgardians show up, and Thor looks out over poor razed Broxton and...weeps.  And where he weeps, nothing ever grows again.

Back on Future earth, old crazy King Thor defeats Galactus and he bleeds on the broken remains of the Earth...and...it blooms!

Earth is back! 

So...so cool.


A heck of a good week!