Not All That Excited

So...I've read the Previews for October.  And I have to say...I'm not all that excited. In fact for the first time in a very LONG time, I am not excited at all. 

Nada.

Zip.

I've been blogging for nine years now, come September. I've been collecting comics since I was fifteen, with a bit of time off for motherhood and all that jazz, but let's just say that I've been at this for a pretty long time, and with a fair amount of enthusiasm.  I started off as a Marvel Zombie, but then slithered over to the opposite side of the aisle, although I have to say that Marvel lately had been doing a pretty darned good job of winning me back.

But this Fall?  Man, it is a desert out there. 

I think I've made it pretty clear, that I'm not a fan of huuuuuuuge Crossovers that take 18 months to play out, before leading right into the next huge Crossover.  I'm old, and cranky, and all I really want is to be able to read about my favorite characters in their own books, with their own narrative and supporting casts, doing their heroic thing.  If guest heroes or villains want to show up occasionally, then that's great. Or if I want to have them all hanging out together, that is what the Avengers or the Justice League are for.  But as a constant diet?  It's getting old. 

So very very old.

Another trend, is the wanton tossing of years of continuity and character development, and revamping of universes, so that the writers can do some fanfiction for a few months.  DC in particular is notorious for this sort of thing, and it is getting a bit on the tedious side.  Marvel has suddenly jumped on the band wagon, and I don't think that it is a good ride.  I am really getting sick of the Convergence, and Secret Wars, and Battleworlds, and War this and War that. 

On the other hand, lest I sound like a complete negative Nelly, there actually HAVE been some astonishingly great books out there, that I really really enjoy.  The problem is that I would like to CONTINUE to really really enjoy them, and that isn't going to be possible. 

Daredevil is coming to an end. I can't say that I was ever a huge Daredevil fan, but Mark Waid and Chris Samnee have made me one, and it's all going to be over. As a story, it has been sublime, but with a different writer and a different artist, I am pretty sure that I won't be continuing the book. I could be wrong...heck I would love to be wrong, and I'll certainly give any new creators a chance to wow me, but I'm getting a lot crankier in my old age.  It used to be that I would hang on and on and on, reading a book that I used to love, waiting for new writers or artists to enthrall me, and coming back issue after issue, waiting...and hoping...that THIS month, it would be good.  I've been disappointed too many times, and hell, I'm old and running out of time for this sort of thing. 

I have been loving the hell out of Loki: Agent of Asgard. I loved the hell out of Journey into Mystery, and Young Avengers too, and after next month, that all ends, and I haven't seen anything about continuing Loki's story from Marvel. At ALL.  And man, I'm depressed.  Because changing Loki's narrative from villain to reluctant anti-hero, has been superbly well done, and made for great stories.  Besides, if Asgard needs a go-to villain now, they have Malekith. 

I love Squirrel Girl, and Ms Marvel, and I think those will remain. I think.  What about Howard the Duck?  Yes, it's silly, but I like silly. 

I love Black Canary, but her new book just didn't do it for me. I've dropped it after one issue.  Same thing with Aquaman.  Justice League has me bored to tears.  I don't CARE about Darkseid.  I hate Superman and Wonder Woman together.  I love Sensation Comics starring Wonder Woman, but I loathe her own book, AND her horrible horrible new costume.  Superman without his curl, or his secret identity, or LOIS, is just...not Superman to me.  I've loved Snyder and Capullo on Batman, but reading Batman without Batman in it, is not my cup of tea. I like James Gordon, but I feel like Barbara...give him back his mustache! 

I loved the original Secret Six. The current bunch, with the exception of Catman, are all a bunch of highly unpleasant people, and I don't care a jot or tittle about them.  I don't read X-Man any more. I don't read Avengers any more, although I still like individual characters.  The new JLI 3000 has been a disappointment, I don't read Flash anymore either.

And then there are the Green Lanterns.  I actually liked Guy Gardner as a Red Lantern, although I was originally quite cool to the idea. Part of that is because Charles Soule is a VERY good writer.  So I miss that book. I have been liking the new Green Lantern Corps, because it has Guy and John and Arisia and Kilowog, so those are four of my absolute favorite characters all together again, and the art is pretty and the story is interesting, so no problems there.  As for the regular Green Lantern book however....

I don't understand it for one thing. I still haven't been presented with a compelling reason for Hal to go all "rogue" and run off to be a version of Space Gambit.  That's not Hal.  That's not remotely Hal.  Yes, Hal is a bit of a rebel, and doesn't necessarily handle authority all that well, and has a bit of a lone wolf attitude about him. But Space Gambit?  Letting his hair grow and wearing a trench coat?

Please.  So, believe it or not, I'm dropping Green Lantern. And that's a sentence that I never thought I would write. 

My pull list is going to be a heck of a lot shorter in a month or two.  And that makes me sad.  It's going to make my beloved comic book store sad too.  Is anyone...anyone at all...enthusiastic about what is coming out after Secret Wars finally comes to an end?  Or the new DC books?  Or anything? Or am I just  being a crank because it is so hot and muggy out? 

New Reviews

Hey, I'm actually on time this week!

Batgirl Annual #3

This was fun.  There are multiple artists, and the action moves between different books, with a team-up with Dick Grayson and Helena Bertinelli as Babs is searching for some terrorists called Gladius.  A bunch of scientists have been kidnapped, taking over the world, the usual.  Dick is terrified that Barbara will spot him and realize that he's not dead.  They do some fighting, he disguises himself as an old guy, but then she gets a good shot of his magnificent rear end, and almost catches on. 

Then she runs across Spoiler, who is trying to develop some street cred or something, and they catch the escaped Bad Guy...er...Girl, who naturally escapes again, but Spoiler was fun.  Then she teams up with Bat Woman, and they rescue an old Marine who is friends with Kate.

Finally, she ends up at Gotham Academy, looking for the relic with the last clue, or whatever, it's all a little vague, but it gives the artists and writer a chance to romp through Gotham, and that's good enough for me. Teams up with Olive and Maps,  finds the film, and the day is more or less saved.

Cute, and fun.


Daredevil #17

Oh God, this wasn't remotely cute, but it sure kept me on the edge of my seat!  Matt has made the proverbial deal with the devil, in trying to work with the Kingpin, who naturally is ten steps ahead of him. Matt isn't exactly dealing from a position of strength, but he's getting desperate.  The Kingpin has Kirsten and Foggy, and he also has Julia Carpenter, who the Shroud has been obsessed with finding. 

It's all going to crap, and Kingpin laughs at Matt and sics Ikari on him. You remember, he's that guy who has basically all of Matt's powers, plus he can see. They are fighting and fighting and Matt is holding his own, but that's about it, when the Shroud shows up, and it all goes even more sideways. The Shroud kills Ikari, which is terrible, because the Kingpin swore he'd kill one of the hostages.

Oh crappity crap crap!  God, I do love this book. Why are they ending it again?


1602: Witch Hunter Angela #2

This is part of the whole Battleworld thing, and if you want Shakespearean Angela, then this is the book for you. It's actually pretty good. Angela and Sera are out looking for Faustians, and end up with a medieval version of the Guardians of the Galaxy at a pagan wedding, and faeries and stuff.  It's rather fabulous really.

Sera tells a story, with her own twist on it, and seeing Angela almost faint from embarrasment is a lot of fun. But there is a problem, since the Enchantress has laid a curse, that if three Faustians are killed, so is Sera.

Pretty darned good!

Thors #2

All the Thors, and I do mean ALL the Thors are on Battleworld, and are the police force. Beta Ray Bill has been murdered, and they are also investigating the multiple deaths of Jane Foster. Donald Blake comes into it as a suspect, and Ultimate Thor fights with Odinson Thor, and in the end, they drag in Loki as a suspect too.

I do hope that it's not mean nasty old Loki ,because having Loki as the inevitable villain would be a real step backwards for me.

It's not bad at all either. 

I still want to actually read about the REAL Marvel and DC characters, and this whole Secret Wars/Battleworld thing is getting old real fast.  But not a bad week, all things considered.

Catching Up!

Been away from my computer for a few days, catching the Sports Car action at the IMSA races at beautiful, bucolic Lime Rock Park, Connecticut.  Now we are home, and doing the laundry and putting everything away that we took camping.  I love camping, but it's a lot of work.  However, if you are going to do it, do it in as much comfort possible, is my credo.

But anyway, here is the really really short update on last week's books.

Batman '66 #25

Fabulous of course.  A slightly altered version of Harley Quinn, and then the Cesar Romero version of the Joker, Catwoman, the Penguin and the Riddler, and even Batgirl thown in for good measure.  God, how I do love this book.  Good silly fun for all.

Plus Robin gets tied up in practically every issue!

Harley Quinn/Power Girl #2

Well, Vartox has been taken captive, so for some reason our girls show up to help, and then end up being helped by a legion of Vartox's ex-lovers.  It's a hoot of course.  I LOVE Vartox!  In all his hairy Sean Connery magnificence!  This is also good silly fun for all. 

I see a trend here.

Sinestro #13

This is not silly, but it isn't bad at all.  Sinestro has taken Soranik's ring, and it's probably a good thing, since very bad things have been happening to all the Green Lanterns. So she's now been made a Yellow Lantern, and she's not particularly happy about it.

Meanwhile, the world that Sinestro had appropriated to be the new home for the remaining Korugarians has been set to explode.  It turns out there is a traitor, and Sinestro knows who it is...but instead of punishing Lyssa Drak, he executes a few other malcontents, because her reasoning is so perverse and yet so perfect, that he wants to keep her around. 

Sinestro is a really really strange man sometimes...but you have to admit, that he gets things done.  And if there were still a Korugar, you know that the trains would all run on time. 

Sensation Comics/Wonder Woman #12

An interesting story with Poison Ivy teaming up with Diana to fight the Titan, Typhon. Ivy wears bark armor, as far as I can tell, and after a lot of fighting, they prevail...naturally.  What's more, Ivy is more or less made welcome on Themyscira, which actually makes a certain amount of sense. Ivy certainly is impressed with the place. 

Also,

Doctor Destiny has been sucking a number of people's dreams dry, and it makes Diana all sad and mopey, so Batman sends her off to his Dad's old favorite vacation spot in the mountains for a nice rest. Except that of course Soloman Grundy is terrorizing the town and eating all the wildlife, so Diana beats him up.  Which turns out to be the best cure there is! Also Batman gets a chaste smooch out of it.

Not the most fabulous of stories, but two good solid tales.

Hawkeye #4

We continue to have dual stories going on in the same pages, with flashbacks in soft pastels to Clint and Barney's adventures with the circus, and then in solid colors, the present with Kate and Clint trying to help the kids they rescued from Hydra.  Naturally Hydra isn't about to just let them go, and there is a nice big green explosion at the end. 

Great stuff, actually.  And Pizza Dog too!

Loki; Agent of Asgard #16

Why oh why are they ending this book?  It has been one of my favorites!  And next month it is over!

Waaaaaaaahh~

So, to escape the fate of turning into evil old King Loki, who has been trampling on the past, young hot Loki has more or less changed completely, becoming the God of Stories rather than Lies, or in this case, Goddess, since he switches back and forth between genders with wild abandon.  He's come to visit Verity, eight months later, after being kicked out of Asgard.

Meanwhile Ragnarok is actually at the door, what with the whole crashing of worlds and Secret Wars, and Battleworlds and all the other malarky that is going on presently.  Everyone except Odin and the Enchantress more or less end up dead and in Valhalla, but they aren't going to be staying there, since Odin blows the Gjallarhorn, and they all come tromping back to give evil old Loki a whuppin'.

Also, young Loki kills Verity, but takes her soul, so essentially, she/he is saving her from being killed when the worlds collide.  Verity isn't particularly happy about this, but she's going along with it for the moment. 

And finally, young Loki makes his/her move, and evil old Loki is left without a purpose, and is defeated rather soundly, before taking off for parts unknown. It is of course entirely possible that he may show up again some day, but for now, he's pretty much out of it.  Woohoo! 

Then Odin wants Loki on their side, and Hela wants Loki on her side, and in order to break out of the old patterns that defined him, he tells them both to stuff it, and fight it out amongst themselves.  And ends up saving their essences in the Story.  Or something. So all that is left is Loki and Verity, and they end up standing before Those Who Sit Above, which were all involved in the OLD Ragnarok.

It's a bit...complicated.  But man, it really does work well, although it does help to have been a Thor reader. 

Great stuff.

It's Still Too Hot

Hot, muggy and depressing.  Plus it's Tuesday.  So here is a little something, that will perhaps get your temperature to rise as well.



Dang it, I haven't seen Hercules in a book in quite a while, and it's a darn shame if you ask me.  A couple of posts ago, Thor was whining about feeling a draft, while wearing Hercules's clothes.  Herc himself, NEVER worries about drafts! And he has an unbeatable method of beating the heat. 

Suddenly I am a lot less depressed.

Thursday's Reviews

Not a bad week, all around.  Not superb of course, but those sorts of weeks only come rarely, in my experience.  But not bad.

Robin; Son of Batman#2

I was curious to see if Pat Gleason could write as well as he draws, and...he's doing pretty good!  We go from flashbacks, that have Damian dueling with Talia, and the kind of tests he has to undergo in his "Year of Blood", which is no doubt as ominous as it sounds, to the present, where he is trying to make up for the damage he caused during that year. 

Thanksgiving at the Al Ghul's must be incredibly awkward.  These are not fun people.

But we have Damian trying to restore an ancient temple, flying dragons, a sentient head, and help (or is it?) from Nobody's daughter, and it is quite the ride.  The art is spectacular of course, and the story is fun, and oh what the heck.

I like this book.

Doctor Fate #2

This has Khalid, a young man going to Med school, who has been talked into wearing the helmet by a talking cat, who, it turns out is actually the goddess Bastet, and being opposed by a really creepy version of Anubis.  Khalid is completely freaked out by all the wierdness of course, and mayhem ensues, and it's all pretty entertaining.  He's still in the stage of utter disbelief, which can get old pretty quickly, so I'm hoping that he actually starts to step up soon, but the art is quirky and fun, and I hope that he gets a cape soon.

Doctor Fate needs a cape.

Not bad at all.

Green Lantern: Lost Army #2

This continues to entertain me.  Our doughty little band of lost Lanterns happen to find a cool red pyrmid thingie floating in space, and after a bit of experimenting use it to charge their dwindling charges up to 200%!  That's good squishy!  They fight off another version of Rage Lanterns, although they aren't Lanterns, per se, and Guy saves John...naturally.  When they do use the pyramid to charge their rings, it changes from red to green, which is cool.

And then, they suddenly aren't being attacked by the "Cleaners" from the first issue, which considered them to be foreign, and invaders. They theorize that using the power from the pyramid has made them more in tune with their surroundings.  Then, they run into Relic of all people.  But not the Relic that they know, but the original Relic.

Which means...that they have somehow been transported not just in space, but in time?  Freaky!

Hey, it beats fighting Darkseid.

The art is gorgeous, and it has Guy in it, and Kilowog, so I'm happy as a clam.

Justice League  #42

Well, everyone is fighting the minions of Darkseid, and there is a whole lot of pontificating going on.  So...so much pontificating.  And Metron shows up, and Diana gets beat up, and Batman jumps in Metron's chair and becomes a God.

I kid you not.

I liked Geoff John's work on Green Lantern, where I think that he had an amazing run. But this...this I'm not really feeling so much.  In the good old days, the Justice League, in almost all of its versions, you had a sense that these people liked each other and worked together for the most part. Now, it seems as though they really don't even care for each other all that much.  There is no cameraderie, no witty banter, and frankly, I don't like this version of Darkseid all that much.

Meh.


Ant-Man Annual #1

Scott tries to bond with his henchmen, which doesn't really go as well as he hoped.  But it is highly amusing.  And then he teams up with Hank Pym  to fight Egghead, which is a hoot.  Also a nice young man who studied Pym's theories but can't get a job shows up as tech support, and I'm pretty sure he'll become a new supporting character. 

It's all very light-hearted and fun, and dammit, I am enjoying the crap out of the recent spate of fun books from Marvel.  Really, they are slowly winning me back after the whole Civil War debacle.  Although I don't like Secret Wars at all. 

But this is good. Very very good.

Hawkeye #22

And we finally come to the final issue of a ground-breaking series.  I have loved this run, and I'm sorry to see it end, although I do have to say that it did tend to peter out at the end. Having the new Hawkeye series come out before the end of the old one, was just...odd.

So, the Bros have taken over, and Barry is supposedly dead, and Clint is a mess, and the guy in the mime make-up is being mean, when Clint comes roaring back, and shoots arrows, and Kate shows up and shoots arrows, and Pizza dog bites a bad guy, but then gets shot, and Noooooo!  Not Pizza Dog!  And more mayhem and fighting,and shooting, and Clint gets shot, but it's only a flesh wound.

And they win!  The bad guys lose, the Avengers show up, the mysterious woman in red takes off, and an evil cabal of bad guys gets together with the Kingpin and they all vote to kill the Hawkeyes...including Kate's own father! 

That's harsh. 

Oh, and Barry isn't dead, he just stole all Clint's money. But Pizza Dog is okay, so that's good. And I will forever, picture Hawkeye with a bandaid on his nose, simply because of this book.

Pretty damn fabulous.

Where Monsters Dwell #3

This is silly. Oh so silly, but so much fun.  Phantom Eagle is trapped in an Amazon village, and they really really don't like him much, but Clemmie is up to the challenge.  It has dinosaurs and time-lost groups, and the art is great, and the dialogue is a hoot, because it is Ennis, after all, and oh heck...it's pretty ridiculous, and that is its charm.

Absolutely a hoot. 

Archie #1

I never in my wildest dreams figured I'd be picking up an Archie comic, but hey, it's Mark Waid and Fiona Staples, so how can I NOT pick it up? And it has Reggie in it, and I love Reggie. 

Archie and Betty have broken up, but we don't really know why, and all their friends are trying to manipulate them into getting back together, with the exception of Jughead, who actually may be the brains around this neck of the woods.  It's...pretty fabulous. 

Get it and read it! 

So...a pretty good week after all.  But man, DC had better start to step up to the plate.

Just for the Heck of It

It's Monday, it's hot and humid, and I don't have a thought in my head, so I decided, as is my wont, to go spelunking through my photobucket.

And came across THIS little gem.



Dang, the Hercules book was a hoot.  I really do miss it...and Amadeus Cho as well.  Where the heck has Hercules even been in the Marvel Universe lately?  They didn't kill him off, did they?  Because he and Thor always had a great love/hate relationship going on that was a whole lotta fun. 

I imagine that Thor isn't used to drafts.

Thursday's Reviews

Well, it was Wednesday, and the pickings were slim.  So very very slim.


Batman #42

I like Snyder and I like Capullo...but I think I am dropping this. I really don't want to read about a mustacheless James Gordon in a moth suit.  If that makes me shallow, then shallow I shall proudly be.

Some stuff happens. He gets a Batmobile, but it is actually a Bat-truck thing, but apparently it gets blowed up, or something, and bad guys are dying, and he fights a building or something.  I'm just...not feeling it.

Fables: The Wolf Among Us #7

Man, that Ichabod Crane was a nasty dude. He was responsible for the Salem Witch Trials!  Who knew?  Meanwhile, Bigby is nosing around a sleezy motel, and finds none other than Beauty running the front desk in order to...pay off some debts.  She agrees to show Bigby to one of the rooms as he's running down a lead, but naturally Beast shows up and thinks there is some hanky panky going on, and a brawl ensues. Turns out the hotel room was the scene of one of the murders, and the perp has a weird fixation on Snow White.

Oh, Ichabod! 

Pretty good actually.  After stalling for a bit, things have picked up the pace.

Gotham Academy #8

I still wish that Damian had stayed around a bit longer, but what the hey.  Olive's mother has died, and some kid is a Man-Bat.  Or should that be a Boy-Bat?  Kyle is worried about Olive, who has developed...eerie powers.

I don't think that the kids actually go to class too often, but I do like this book.

JLA #2

I...really haven't a clue as to what is going on here.  I know that it is more or less out of continuity, and it is always nice to see Hal flitting about, except that or some reason he and Barry are missing, and so is Wonder Woman.  But Rao, the God of Krypton shows up and Cal is besotted.  And Rao, even though he managed to let Krypton blow up (as Aquaman points out) is here to make everything better!

Disciples are wandering around, preaching the word and healing the sick, as Rao sucks up to a bedazzled Cal.  Batman as usual is completely suspicious, and Aquaman is rather hilarious, and it's not actually bad.  Pretty good even, and the art is pretty of course. 

You could do worse.  I'm pretty sure that Rao is going to turn out to be a fraud, but it's fun in the meantime.

JLU #ll

What the heck happened to this book?   Adam Strange is gone, and they brought in Mera, Poison Ivy, Jason Blood and Swamp Thing to fight a big...Thing.  Did I miss something?  Mera is snarky, Swampie is stoic, Jason isn't shirtless nearly enough, and Ivy is...girlish and winsome? What the heck? 

The artist was trying to do all sorts of interesting things, and there were some cool layouts, but still...on the whole I found it rather difficult to navigate, and I'm still not completely sure what happened.  A shame really, I was liking this book a lot at the beginning. But I thought this was a bit of a mess. An ambitious mess, but a mess nevertheless.

I am in a mood today!

Section Eight #2

I was really looking forward to this issue, with Hal and all.  The first one was a hoot, but this one misses a few beats.  Six-Pack is still looking for a new recruit, and there really are only so many times that a drunk barfing on everything is all that funny.  There is an amusing montage with him trying to return a bunch of used Green Lantern T-shirts, and arguing with the clerk while a massive battle rages through the window between Hal and a giant red Space Dinosaur.

Hal is getting interviewed after the fight, and being all self-congratulatory (naturally, this is Hal) when Six-Pack runs over to invite him to join their doughty band. Hal thinks its some sort of Stunt, and he's about to get punked, and stomps off in a cab, threatening to call his lawyer. Why he didn't simply fly away, I couldn't tell you. 

It was mildly amusing, but not a real knee-slapper.

And then we get to the gem of the day.

Saga #30

Man, the bodies just keep falling in the book, which is why it is so fabulous and horrifying all at the same time.

Marco and Prince Robot's ship has crashed, and Ghus is worried, but Marco is only concerned about finding his family and goes after them armed to the teeth.  Alana is terrified, because the group that that idiot janitor hooked up with, has Hazel, and you really shouldn't get between Alana and her baby. Dengo, tells her not to worry because Klara is with the Hazel, but Klara has problems of her own. 

The body count is rising, and the ship with Hazel and Klara takes off, leaving Alana and Dengo in the snow...and Alana isn't happy. Not at all. 

And then Marco shows up,and he's not happy either, although he is VERY happy to see his wife...and she him.

Awwww!

Dengo thinks he's going to get out of this, but then Prince Robot stalks up and  just blows him away.

Also, they managed to save the Will, which is good, but have to admit that the Brand was killed in the attempt which makes the Will very very cranky.

And Hazel is in preschool. 

God, I love this book. 

So, a bit of a mixed bag this week.  Either I'm getting more discerning, or more jaded about my books, I'm not sure which.

Feeling...Cranky

I've been browsing through Previews, and noodling around on the interwebs, and the prognosis for this coming October is not...promising.  Presumably, all the giant crossovers will be coming to a thankful end, and we can get back to the business of telling stories about our favorite superheroes as opposed to indulging in company-sponsored fan-fiction, and that is a good thing. I like Elseworlds stories as much as the rest of them, but interrupting my regular books, is an indulgence that makes me go cross-eyed.

Remember graphic novels?  I do.  That was where DC or Marvel could come out, and put out a nice glossy book with a great story and art, and do something different from the regular books, without interrupting anything.  I know that everything gets written for Trades nowadays, but what ever happened to good old graphic novels? 

Anyhoo.

Books that I adore are...missing. 

This makes me crabby. 

I know that Loki: Agent of Asgard is finishing up more or less in August, or September, but I haven't seen a single solicitation for it, or a new book in October.  This makes me VERY cranky, since it has been a really really good book.  I see that Thor is going to be back, which is a good thing, since I like that as well. 

But what about Squirrel Girl?  God, I love Squirrel Girl.  It may be my favorite book about now.  I know that Howard the Duck is coming out with another number One issue, which is absurd, since I think it is only up to...four maybe?  What the hell?  But it is a fun book and I'm glad I will have the chance to continue to read it. Ms. Marvel is coming back I think, which is also good. 

And then there is a crapload of new books, very few of which actually appeal to me.  About 900 Avengers books, only 400 Spider-Man books, and a corresponding number of  X-books.  Yeesh. 

Over at DC, things aren't looking too promising either.  The new Lost Army/Green Lantern book seems pretty promising, but the regular GL with Hal is not really my cup of tea.  Hal running around in a duster and long hair is just...odd.  Damn odd.  Call me shallow, but what the heck again? 

I don't really care about Darkseid, Aquaman used to be good, but I'm dumping it.  James Gordon as Batman in a bunny/moth suit doesn't really float my boat, although Sensational Wonder Woman is good, and so is Batman '66.  Section Eight has been a hoot.  Justice League so-so, and so on and so forth.

Perhaps I am grumbling without cause. After all, I haven't even read any of these prospective offerings yet, and here I am, kvetching at the top of my lungs and stamping my dainty feet, and using all that fan-girl privilege and such.  It has to be annoying.

And yet...I want to love my comics, and I don't really see all that much that is appealing...at least not at this juncture.  I guess I'll have to wait and see, and hope for the best, but that seems to be getting harder and harder to do anymore, now that I am a mean old lady, waving my cane and shrieking at people to get off my lawn. 

Is anyone else hopeful, or is it just me?

Thursday's Reviews

A bit of a small week.  A Marvel-heavy week, which just surprises the heck out of me.  And I don't even LIKE the whole Secret Wars/Battleworld stuff!

Gothem Academy #7

Yes, I know that this came out weeks ago...but I finally finally found it. And it is a hoot. 

Somehow, due to a stolen quill pen that may or may not be magical, Maps ends up holding hands...semi-permanently with Damian Wayne.  There are magical ravens, mayhem and hilarity.  It's adorable.  Also, Damien ends up getting expelled, which is a bummer, but he's not particularly upset about it.  And the headmaster seems happy too.

Wonderful!

Green Lantern #42

Well, Hal is still running around with long hair, which I find to be very...jarring.  I think he saw how well Guy was rocking the hair when he was a Red Lantern, and felt the need to compete.  Typical Hal. 

So...he's taking prince whatshisname home, along with the pirate, and discovers that the planet is frozen and dead, everything turned to stone. Rather similar to the Wall, and Relic.  Prince Whatshisname is depressed naturally.  Then the pirate dudes henchmen show up and Hal beats the stuffing out of them, until they decide that they don't really like Pirate dude all that much anyway, and make a strategic departure.  Hal has to keep reminding the Glove, that he doesn't arbitrarily kill people, so apparently the whole boundaries that stop other Lanterns don't apply here.

Hal is also wearing a trench coat. 

*snicker*

Oh, and Black Hand shows up, trying to revive all the dead people, except it doesn't work for him, and he bursts into tears.

I assume that Relic is going to be part of both this book and the new Green Lantern Corp/Lost Corps book, although I have to admit that Relic is NOT one of my favorite protagonists. So far, this just doesn't seem like Hal to me.  He's...he's trying too hard. And I still, for the life of me, can't figure out why he is even DOING this!  His whole motivation just seems...odd.  As in nonexistent.

Okay, but not up to previous standards.


A-Force #2

I'm still not really sure what is going on here...probably because I have been avoiding the whole Battleworld stuff.  They find a portal of some kind underwater, with Namor and Namorita and Namora, and maybe a few other people with "Namor" in their names.  It shows a bright swirly view of other universes, which is hopefully how they are going to get things back to normal eventually. 

America Chavez is still exiled, and nobody is too happy about it, but Jen is a bit of a toady for Doctor Doom. 

I have to say that Loki's house is really really nice.  I do love a nice painted lady Victorian.  For some reason she lives there with someone called Nico, and America used to live there.  Nico has found a nice blue sparkly girl, who is probably someone I should know. 

The rest of the women aren't too sure, and then a Sentinal shows up, and a fight breaks out, because...duh.  Sparkly girl ends up saving them, but Medusa still wants to turn her over to Doom.  But the other portal is still there, so Sparkly sends She-Hulk to it, and it ain't pretty.

I'm not completely convinced about this book.  I like all the women Avengers, because it's fun, and I like Loki of course, but some of them seem awfully judgemental.  I also don't know who Nico is. 

Not bad, I'll be sticking with this for a while anyway.

Groot #2

Awwww...this is so cute. A bit of a back story about how Groot met Rocket.  Also those people on the Space bus are real jerks. 

And then the Silver Surfer shows up. 

This is fun.  Sweet and fun.

Little a vs x Marvel #2

Not sure if that is the real title, but we have the Avengers as little kids and the X-men as little kids with rival tree houses, and they really really can't stand each other. Plus, it's Skottie Young, and it's...it's just a hoot. 

It is so nice to actually have the choice of some NOT Grim and Gritty comic books for a change!  Thanks Marvel! 

Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #7

Oh, and the insanity just continues.  From the previous issue, "Girl-Squirrel" isn't the cute adorable little rodent that she seems, she is actually Ratatoskr, a Norse immortal, who really ought to be hanging out on Yggdrasil, but is on earth causing mischief and mayhem.  Fights are breaking out everywhere, over the silliest things, such as waffles vs pancakes.  Thor and Odinson are a bit busy, but end up helping.

Squirrel Girl also takes Nancy, Koi Boi and Chipmunk Hunk to meet the Avengers, and  it...is magnificent, with old Cap and new Cap dissing Spider-Man.  But anyway, they do finally meet up with the Thors, and Nancy gets to go to Asgard!  She's just thrilled beyond belief because she writes fan-fiction about Cat-Thor. 

The rest of them confront Ratatoskr, who could give Loki a run for his money when it comes to chaos.

Oh God...I love this book...so VERY much!