Reviews

End of the month, and more books than usual. This is not a bad thing.

Batgirl #45

You know...I'm not really sure that I'm feeling this.  Babs is running about saving everyone at her friend's wedding, by supplying earring backs, and bowties, and guarding the ring.  It actually appears to be an engagement ring instead of a wedding ring, which confuses me.  She's snuggling up to her new beau, Luke Fox, when who should come slithering through the window, but...Dick Grayson! 

Yep, he's not dead, and wants to make smooches with Babs, which doesn't go over really well with Luke.  Dick steals the ring and goes prancing over the rooftops with Babs in hot pursuit. 

Seriously?  He's just being a royal jerk at this point.  She has a responsibility to her friends, and he's being a prat.  She eventually gets the ring back, he sulks, she makes it in time, and the wedding happens, but yeesh!

Oh, and there is some sort of cliffhanger with a...guy in silhouette. 

I just wanted to punch the ostensible heroes in this issue, which is probably not the reaction they were going for.

Batman '66 #28

Now THIS book was great!  Just in time for Halloween, Batman and Robin end up fighting the Scarecrow, who is going around scaring people as is his wont.  They travel back to his boyhood home, and discover that he's using...something that causes the fear, but that the local people are immune to...from eating grits.  I kid you not.  It's all hillbilly humor, but it is a hoot. 

Also, they battle Killer Croc, and capture him in the sewers, because that is what they do.  Fabulous!

Robin: Son of Batman #5

Well, Talia is back, and she's scared to death. Damian and Ducard have been going around restoring all the relics and stuff that Damian stole during his Year of Blood, but now that he's doing that it has given rise to some baddies, and Talia is scared stiff.  Damian's old mutant brothers help out, which is nice, , and as usual the art is amazing.

The Al Ghuls are back!

Section Eight #5

This book just keeps getting stranger and stranger, and who shows up but...the Phantom Stranger!  A hip-hop version of the Phantom Stranger, and he takes Six Pack on a tour of Limbo for some reason, where he runs into his old dead buddies. 

Then Superman shows up at the end.  I honestly don't think that it is in my power to actually explain what happened here, other than trippy doesn't even begin to describe it.  But it's kinda fun in a really weird sort of way. 

Really.

Sinestro #16

Well, Sinestro decides to come to earth and hang out with Black Adam, who is running Kahndaq, and apparently running it quite well. They seem like frenemies, which is all that Sinestro really has anyway.  It turns out that Adam fought some of the Pale Bishops waaaay in the past, and Sinestro wants some information.  Also, Soranik thinks that Adam is hot.  Which he is.

Then Adam and Sinestro go walking into some ancient tombs, fight off some ancient dead guardians, and lo and behold, come across the ancient mummy of a...Guardian?  I mean Guardian as in little blue guy Guardian!

This should be very interesting.


I also got the cover with Sinestro as Grumpy Cat, and it's rather hilarious.

Angela: Queen of Hel #1

This is a bit convoluted actually.  When Angela was stolen by the angels, Queen Freyja was so pissed, that she cursed all angels to serve as slaves in Hel when they died.  Well, Sera died, so Angela decides to go to Hel and get her back. She ends up taking over from Hela, but that's not what we actually get, but a really really complicated flash-back with Angela fighting a Hierophant, and then fighting Sera who was pissed that when she died Angela didn't come and save her.

Well, since she didn't KNOW that she had to, I would say that perhaps Sera should cut her a little slack.  Not quite sure where all of this is going, but I guess I'll be hanging around to find out for now.

Squirrel Girl #1

Another number One!  Really, they just pick up from where they left off, mostly.  Doreen, and her chums save some people from a fire, and move into their new apartment, where Doreen has a really nifty transporter to the New Avengers Headquarters.  But that is all that it transports you to, which she finds to be a bummer.

Also, she and Nancy go and have lunch with her mom.  Nancy isn't too enthusiastic at first, but she and Doreen's mom, Maureen, get along like a house afire!  And then they are attacked by...Brain Drain!  An old Hydra guy with a robot body and exposed brain!  They beat him up pretty handily considering his robot body is all vacumn tubes and duct tape, and then realize that perhaps they over-reacted, and build him a new body out of Nancy's cell phone and talk to him for a while. He's really not all that bad, just confused. 

It is hilarious and adorable and....adorable. God I love this book.

Back to Basics

I've been at this a long time now.  And while I freely admit, that the title was the result of a booze-induced gabfest with my kids, I have to admit that in the long run, it pretty much sums up my philosophy when it comes to Comics. 

Mainly, Green Lanterns, no matter how awful their current books are, are still...and shall remain...awesome.  And they have great butts. 

So...



Oh Hal.

Thursday's Reviews

Once again, not a terrible week.  It occurs to me, that as of this September, I have been at this whole blogging business for going on nine years now.  How time flies!  That adds up to a whole lot of pictures of Hal's butt!

Anyhoo.

Gotham Academy #ll

Undercover of a tennis match, Olive and Maps go searching for Olive's mother, and just happen to run into Tim. Always nice to see Tim. His ridiculous Red Robin outfit doesn't even look all that stupid, as drawn by the artists.  I have to admit to finding Maps a whole lot more fun to read about than Olive, who is a bit on the sulky side, especially since she has such a propensity for running into Robins of every type and shade.

It's a nice jaunt through Bat territory as usual.

Green Lantern: Lost Army #5

Things seem to be picking up, although the writer still seems to spend too much time mooning over John's past as a Marine.  It isn't as though John is a newbie to the Corps, he's been at this for a heck of a long time now.  But anyway.

A crapload of Lanterns are captured and fighting against the Light Pirates, and having a harder time of if than usual, without rings.  B'dge saves the day by squirrelling through the tunnels and swiping a bunch of rings, although not enough for everyone, and on fairly low power. Still, they make do. Kilowog and Guy are fighting the good fight, and then Jruk goes down, which makes me sad.  It is slightly unclear as to whether he actually dies, or if Guy is able to haul his carcass out of there.  Guy as usual, is the only one who is trying to help the wounded or dying. 

Kilowog ends up with an orb/scepter thing instead of a ring which throws him a bit, but they are able to recover enough of their rings for the surviving members.  And then Krona and Relic do come back to bust them out, and they all decide to go off and find Mogo.

This is a good thing, since I love Mogo. There is a slightly rushed feeling to this now, but since they have decided for some reason to cancel this book, I suppose I can understand that. It isn't a terrible Green Lantern story, and the art is quite lovely, it certainly is a helluva a lot better than the regular Green Lantern book with Hal, which is just awful.  I'm going to miss it. 

Not bad at all.

Justice League #45

Suddenly Darkseid is dead. Is that what happened last issue?  Because I practically missed it.  It seems to be a bit of an anti-climax.  And speaking of which, the Anti-Monitor is off doing...stuff.  All the Justice League members are suddenly Gods of various things, or at least some of them are, and naturally, awfully full of themselves.  Superman is obnoxious, so is Batman, and Flash is Death, and what the heck happened to Captain...er...Shazaam? 

Hal is still Hal, at least much more so than in his own book...thank goodness.  Wonder Woman is already a Goddess, so no problems there.  I still find this all to be a rather convoluted mess, and I actually prefer the other Justice League book.  So...meh.


Ant-Man #1

Starting all over again!  Thanks, Marvel!  But I can't complain I guess, since Secret War seems to be finally...FINALLY wrapping up, and the good books coming back again.  Instead of just continuing the books, all of which still have their original writers and artists, they are starting over at # l again,which seems a bit confusing.  Oh well.

Scott is still a mess...still trying to figure things out. He sneaks off to watch Cassie play basketball, but she doesn't know that he is there, and so she whines that he's never around. He's trying to get more contracts for his business, but his arch foe  is trying to take him down, along with his ex-wife's new hubby.  It's all a lot of fun, and the dialogue is snarky and fast, and I do like this book.

Invincible Iron Man #2

I swear I just got the first issue of this a week or so ago, but I'm not complaining.  I also can't believe that I am actually reading an Iron Man book, but so far, this has been pretty darned good.  Nice art too.  Madame Masque has broken into various places, stealing various artifacts.  Doctor Doom shows up sans armor, and unscarred, and tries to convince Tony that he's all nice now.

Tony isn't buying it of course, and keeps attacking him, but Doom holds him off with some nice magic.  He does point out that he still cares for Latveria, and that Madame Masque is dangerous and accidentally stole the wrong artifact anyway, and perhaps they should actually try to work with one another for a bit. 

I am interested in where this is going, and it's certainly piqued my interest.

Finally...

I got my hands on the collection of Atomic Robo, by Clevenger and Wegener.  I have been hearing fabulous things about this for quite a while now, but could never actually find it, but now I have, and am all ready to sit down and read the whole thing.  I am only part way through, but it is a hoot so far.  It is actually fun to try new things!  Who knew!

Thursday's Reviews

Well how about that?  A pretty decent week!  It's about time!


JLA #4

I find that I am enjoying the Hitch version of the JLA a whole lot more than the Johns version with the Darkseid war. It has Hal in for one thing, and it has the Justice League actually acting like...well like the Justice League. 

So not everyone is thrilled with Rao coming to earth and offering paradise.  Mainly Batman, but that doesn't really surprise me.  But even Superman is beginning to have some doubts. Also, due to some testing, it turns out that Rao is slowly altering people's DNA or something in order to make them more receptive to his "saving" them. 

Hal meantime has gone back in time on Krypton, and ends up talking to a 300 year old Rao, who is a cranky old man. He's actually rather thrilled to see a Green Lantern, since Tomar Re hasn't been by in a while.  Hal, of course falls for this completely, especially,  old Rao takes a bit of his assistant's life force to give him some more strength as they go to fight some weird energy source.  It's nice to see Hal being written according to character for a change.

So...not bad at all actually.  The art is pretty, and the story is a nice old-fashioned JLA story, and God, I do enjoy that.


Fables: The Wolf Among Us #10

This is a bit on the grisly side.  Snow and Bigby have figured out that Crane is a first-class creep, but he's not actually the murderer.  Meanwhile, Mary who has "married" the creepy guy in the mirror and gotten pregnant is having her baby.  Kinda.  Since having a mirror doppleganger give birth is a bit on the iffy side, the creepy husband, cuts the baby out of her womb with shards of the mirror and runs off with it.  This does not make Mary...very happy. 

At all.

Oh, and a rather interesting cliff hanger.  Things have actually picked up a bit in this issue, it was starting to drag there for a while.  Nice to see the variety of artists in this as well.  Still a little slow, but it is still a good book, and always nice to see the bunch from Fables.

Doctor Strange #1

This actually came out last week, but I heard good things about it, and decided to give it a shot.  Bachalo is not one of my favorite artists, but I do think that for a book of this type, filled with the fantastical and grotesque, he's pretty damned perfect.

Jason Aaron is the writer, and he does a darned fantastic job of it himself.  We get a quick recap of the original Stan Lee origin, and an explanation that to this day, his hands still have a tendency to shake and ache.  Strange things are showing up...unusual things, and while he handles them with his usual aplomb, he's getting a little worried.  I liked the Bar, where he hangs out with Wanda, Doctor Voodoo and Shaman, it's another nice touch.

I can understand why it was rated so highly, it is a very good read.  So nice to find a new book that is GOOD!

Invincible Iron Man #1

Also came out last week, and again, had very good reviews, so I figured what the heck?  I'm fond of Tony in a rather contemptuous way, and I haven't been too happy with him acting like a complete asshole as opposed to a slightly loveable asshole, so this new book is a lot more enjoyable. 

He's back to his old self more or less. The ego is still there of course, he's still making new suits, but at least he's not a villain now.  Madame Masque shows up and she's upped her game.  Tony has a nice date with a pretty Sril Lankan Biophysicist, whom I actually like quite a bit. I hope she shows up again. 

Oh, and Doom is back.  And boy howdy, is he! 

Maybe.

This is pretty good too.  The art is nice, and although Bendis isn't my favorite writer, he does seem to have an actual ear for how Tony talks and thinks, which is nice.  So very good too.


Ms. Marvel #19

This is the last issue of her book before it all ends, fortunately, I know that she's coming back. It is spectacular of course.  She and her mother have a nice talk, about the fact that her mom knows all about her being Ms. Marvel. She's not mad, although she worries, but she's glad that if her daughter is sneaking out at night at least she's doing it to help people. 

Everyone is at the High School trying to cope with the mess, although most of them seem to think that they are going to be attacked by Zombies.  Kamala and Bruno really are the only ones who know that it is all ending.  People talk, confess, and clear the air, and finally everyone decides that the best way to go out is by dancing.

God, I love this book. 

Spectacular!

The New Avengers #1

I got this because I really like most of the characters, such as Squirrel Girl, Billy and Teddy from Young Avengers.  Also Clint/Hawkeye.  Also it's by Al Ewing, whom I really like as a writer.  Not so thrilled about the artwork however, it's just so...angular and sharp, I'm afraid I might cut myself reading. 

These Avengers aren't like the other Avengers, they are more "undercover" Avengers. The writing is sharp and witty of course, as they are sent into investigate some weirdness in Paris.  I don't care so much about some of the characters like White Tiger or Songbird or Power Man. Roberto DaCosta is okay I guess, but a bit on the smarmy side.  Thank goodness for Tippy Toe.

It's okay.  Not bad.  Has potential.  And that's a good thing.

So...a pretty decent week for a change!  Hope is on the Horizon!

How About That?

Well... all this time I just assumed that DC had killed Kyle Raynor off in Omega Men.  I never actually read it, but saw the scans of him all tied up and presumably executed and stuff.  It seemed like a pretty crappy thing to do, to a Green Lantern, much less one who had more or less carried the entire franchise for years, but hey, things have been pretty weird at DC lately.

But I guess he's not dead after all ! This is a good thing. I am still not going to buy the book, the characters with the exception of Kyle don't appeal to me at all. And they had pretty much killed my interest back when they teamed him up with Carol Ferris and the new new Guardian's. But not dead is still better than dead dead... so that's something to be mildly grateful for.  So thanks DC!

IT'll take what I can get.

Tiny Reviews

Three books.  This is what I have been reduced to.  It's not that I don't WANT to buy more books...I have my beloved Comic Book Store owner's kid to put through college after all...but there is practically nothing out there that I want to read.  I am looking forward to the eventual end of Secret Wars and the relaunching of so many of my favorite books.

So...Looking...Forward.

In the meantime...

Green Lantern #45

I know, I know, I keep swearing that I am going to drop this book.  But it had Black Hand in it, and I confess to a tiny bit of affection for Black Hand.  He is the one turning all those planets into rock, due to some sort of effect left over from the Source Wall, and he's not too happy about it. Also, he's headed towards sector 2814, so Hal is in a huge tizzy.

Finally, he also confesses (Hal that is,) just what his reasoning was concerning his stealing the artifact, and going "rogue".  He...I can hardly believe this...figured that if he "went bad", then the Green Lanterns would chase him, and restore their good name to the Universe.

Seriously. 

Thus proving once again, that when it comes to brains, Hal thought they said trains...and missed his.  That has to be the dumbest idea that he's ever had...and trust me, he's had some doozies. It is also all rendered moot considering that most, if not all the Green Lanterns have been mysteriously whisked away to Relic's Universe, and aren't even around to be redeemed.  So Hal is running around being Space Gambit...FOR NOTHING!  Plus they are cancelling Green Lantern Corps anyway, so who the hell knows what is going to happen? 

Man, from being one of DC's premier books, the Green Lanterns have really fallen on hard times lately.

BAH!

Groot #5

Adorable as always. 

Groot and his motley crew descend upon the space craft where Rocket is being held captive by a very unpleasant pirate lady, and mayhem naturally ensues.  She doesn't really take Groot seriously, which is a big mistake on her part.  Meanwhile, Mantron falls in love, and proves to be totally awesomely fabulous.  Also, one of the silly Skrulls turns out to be a Super Skrull...much to everyone's surprise.

With a few amusing twists and turns along the way, things work out, and we have Rocket and Groot off in a Space Camaro, to see what all the hoopla about Earth is...well...about.

I do love this book.

1603 #4

We have Angela as a Witch Hunter, going after the Faustians, and the Enchantress as the Fairie Queen, and Sera as a dead, but still animated talking skull.  It's all very Shakespearean, and witty and nicely drawn, and not a bad diversion at all.  Also, Christopher Marlowe gets his.  But Shakespeare rocks! 

Oh yes he does. 

And that was it.  One great, one very good, and one so bad that it was possibly, kinda good in a terrible sort of way.

Something to Look Forward To

I have been delighted to learn that apparently, Mark Waid

 and Chris Samnee are going to team up again and do a Black Widow book. This is a good thing. I like Natasha and I love the work that þhis dynamic duo puts out. So, there is another book to look forward to. 

That is also a good thing considering the desert that September had turned out to be.  Hopefully things will improve in October.  Is Secret Wars still going on? Will it ever end?

Supposedly Squirrel Girl and Howard the Duck will be back. I am also looking forward to Thor, although I still miss Loki: Agent of Asgard terribly.  I do believe Ms. marvel is going to be an Avenger, which can only be fun, but is her solo book still going to continue?

I am still in a bit of shock over the fact that... somehow most of my favorite books seem to be Marvel books. They have really  been doing a pretty good job lately of putting out fun quirky books.  DC is cancelling the Green Lantern Corps which breaks my heart, and Hal's book stinks which makes my heart break a little more. Almost everything else seems so grim and overblown and terribly terribly serious. So... not much fun, although Section Eight has its own peculiar charm, although I don't really see how Garth Ennis can keep the joke going too much longer.

Umm...I seem to have veered off on a tangent here. I guess what I am saying, is that although I seem to be pretty jaded lately, there does seem to be a bit of light at the end of the tunnel. And that is something to look forward to.

Thursday Reviews

This was a very...odd week.  Still not quite sure why.  I'm still trying to adjust to the fact that most of my favorite books have been cancelled, or ended.  Some of them will be coming back, but I really feel as though I am just going through the motions. This is...unsettling.


Batman Annual #4

I haven't really been keeping up with Batman ever since he lost his marbles and gave up being Batman.  Giant Moth Batman doesn't really float my boat.  This annual has Clayface, Riddler and Mr. Freeze, all atacking Bruce in the Mansion, and whining about how they KNOW it was he who was bankrolling Batman. 

You have to feel for them a little bit.  They do seem to have a genuine grievance.  But Bruce manages to be awesome even without his Bat Powers, and uses a rifle/shotgun, whatever, which really freaks them out, and saves Alfred and two other women, and it actually is pretty decent.  Still don't want to read about non-Bat Bruce however.

So...what has Alfred told Damian, or Tim or Jason or Barbara about what is going on with Bruce?


Green Lantern Annual #4

Every goddamn month I insist that I am not going to be sucked back into buying this book, and practically every month I think..."Maybe this one will be good". 

Well...it's not.  It's pretty terrible.  It's beyond terrible.  Hal is a completely different person.  He's traced and attacked by the remains of the Corp, including Salaak, who try to take him in, and he brutalizes all of them.  Then it turns out that it is all just him telling the story to the two guys he hangs out with along with his murderous AI for his ship,and he's just building a legend or some other crap.  Also Lobo shows up and I hate this Lobo. 

Hal has always had his whiney moments, but this is just one turgid mess. 

Awful. 

Justice League #44

I keep thinking that perhaps I have missed an issue or something, because I really no longer have a clue as to what is going on.  Batman is in Metron's Mobius chair being mystical and cryptic, but still insulting Hal, who is actually pretty normal in this book as opposed to his own.  Darkseid and Allfather are fighting, and the Anti-Monitor comes into it somehow along  with Qwardians, and God knows what else, and it is also a bit of a mess. 

I like Geoff Johns, but this is NOT his most coherent work.

Sandman Overture #6

Now THIS book was fabulous.  We come to the end of the tale, of Morpheus trying to clean up the mess he made by not getting rid of the dying star/vortex. and all the mess he made of the Universe.  The colors are lush, the artwork is gorgeous, and it is as deep and metaphysical as you would expect a Gaiman book to be. 

He does manage to save the Universe, stealing a little idea from the Dream of Cats story, and a little bit of help from Desire of all people.  It's just....lovely.

Wonder Woman '77 Special #2

This is fun.  It's nice to see a REAL Wonder Woman story for a change.  She looks like Lynda Carter, she is wearing her iconic suit, and the art is good and the two stories are fun, and all in all it's a  good read, and a bit of a relief after some of the other dreck this week.

Finally...

S.H.I.E.L.D. #10

I've only picked this book up a couple of times, but perhaps I should go back and get the ones that I missed, because it is actually pretty decent. This one has Howard the Duck in it,and of course, that makes it automatically a lot of fun.  It's a bit out of control and totally ridiculous...but that's the way a Howard the Duck comic should be!

It doesn't take itself too seriously, and by Jove, that means that it's a book for me!

And really finally...

The Tenth Anniversary Uberedition of ACTION Philosopers by Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey.

I've heard about Action Philosophers, being pretty darned fabulous, but for one reason or another, I had never actually read it...until now.  Hardbound, and beautifully illustrated, this book is...quite simply...fantastic.

And funny.  And thought provoking.  But mostly funny.  Really really funny. 

So it turned out to be a better week than I thought it was going to be at first.