Super cover. The whole Manheim/Intergang/Twice named Daughter of Cain bit is probably the weakest of the storylines in 52, but this wasn't without some tension, mostly focused on Renee and Kate. Renee does look good as the Question. And it's nice seeing Nightwing in this book. The Birds of Prey origin at the back was nicely done.
Atom 10
This continues Ryan's not happy trip down memory lane, a trip full of really nasty old, now dead boyhood enemies. As they say, this time, it's personal. It's also loads of fun and very good.
Buffy: The Long Way Home, part II
Everything I'd hoped it would be and more. A true continuation of the show, with nice art and the snappy banter that helped make the show special. Buffy's in danger, Amy's being a dangerous nuisance, and an old friend turns up to help. Great stuff.
Jack of Fables 9
Another book I really love and one that never disappoints. Jack finds himself in a heap of trouble with Lady Luck and Hillary and Mr. Revise are closing in. But even better than the story is the note at the end about the Next issue. That has become one of my favorite parts of the book.
Nightwing 131
The Bride and Groom storyline has been rather creepy, and Dick has taken the deaths of the Lorens family personally. Nice cliffhanger ending. Not my favorite run of Nightwing, but much better than what we've gotten the last couple of years. And I like how Marv is working in secondary characters who might end up as supporting cast.
Supergirl 16
Well, uh, the weird crystals are explained and Kara's father was either a misunderstood genius or insane. The story conceit that allows him to fill Kara in about the past, "correcting" her memories of her growing up, felt forced to me. Garza's art is nice, but I hate how he draws eyes, as if they have an overabundance of eyeliner. And his limbs are drawn rather lean, almost like Ralph Dibny's on gingold.
My main problem with the story is that, aside from not knowing how this fits with the Superman books which I don't read, the whole Phantom Zone villains being attracted to Superman so Kara had to kill the baby Kal-El. But all this time, Kal grew up and nothing awful like Zor-El feared happened, but we're to believe that now, with this all revealed, the danger is HERE! Or rather, in Supergirl 17? Puh-lease. That really begs coincidence and believability. I applaud Joe Kelly and Marc Sable for trying to do something meaningful with this book, and Kara's confusion and feelings of inadequacy play out well, but the revelations and the whole squabbling El brothers bit just doesn't work for me. I'll keep with the book in the hope that after the fallout from this settles, maybe this will be a solid book. But I'm not overly confident about that right now. Darn thing just feels like it's treading water right now, which is better than drowning, but hardly worth getting excited about.
Welcome to Tranquility 5
Fun art, snappy dialogue, serious themes and storylines, and neat plot twists make this a must-read. This is one of those books that when someone asks, what should comics be, you can point to it.
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