Some Comics I Read

I doubt I'll ever get caught up, but I did get some books read. Here they are, in brief.

Blackest Night 3
Stellar art from Reis (with Albert and Prado); everyone looked so real, including the dead guys. Johns packed a lot of character bits in this and the dialogue between Barry and Hal is priceless, really getting to the guts of their friendship and personalities. So far, this is living up to the hype.

Action 882
I don't usually read this, but did because of the Reactron storyline. Pere Perez did a nice job on the art and the story by Rucka and Gates moved along nicely. I probably could have managed without this chapter, but I'm glad I read it.

Batman 691
Judd Winick is doing some of his best writing on this book. He also had a good feel for Dick (and the other original Teen Titans, including Roy Harper) and it's on fine display here. Dick and Two-Face have a bit of history together, so Harvey makes a good villain here. The differences and similarities between Dick and Bruce are also made clear and I love the interactions between Dick and Alfred. And that last page... I can't wait to see why Bruce had that hidden file on Dick's parents' murder.

Booster Gold 25
Nice interaction with Booster and Dick/Batman (can't seem to bring myself to call Dick Bats) and I'm glad Booster confided in Dick. It brings things in line with Bruce having known the truth. The Blue Beetle back-up still leaves the questions about Black Beetle's identity unanswered. After all, why should we believe Black Beetle is who/what he claims to be? After all, he's evil and evil bad guys are not above lying if it will help distract the good guys. Jaime really wrestles with some strong emotions here and his development feel true.

Batgirl 3
I don't know how long this book can last, but Stephanie is definitely growing on me (I'd never really cared one way or another for her). I even teared up over Babs realizing how much Stephanie has grown into the role and will continue to grow. Babs might not be gearing up another round of Birds of Prey, but she's definitely coming out of her doldrums. Once Stephanie is established more fully as the new BG, I hope more supporting cast members who are not from the other Bat books are added. Some college friends for her would be nice.

Final Crisis: Escape 6/6
After a confusing ride, this ended better than I'd thought/feared. It was nice reading a story that showed off Tom's strengths. The whole Brother Eye bit worked well, too, even if the whole Brother Eye thing feels rather overused by now.

Two books this batch tie for best of the batch...

Secret Six 14
This book is filled with awesomeness. Nicola Scott et al did a bang-up job on the art and Gail Simone continues to razzle dazzle with these characters. Wonder Woman and the Amazons made wonderful guest stars, Catman's more heroic than he'd like anyone to think, and Lawton is well... Lawton. The best parts of the book, however, focus on Bane and Scandal. Bane taking over and tossing Scandal off the team is a great twist and should make for some extra tension in the next issue or two.

JSA vs Kobra 5/6
*sigh* One more issue of the real JSA. I love this group. This group. Not the splintered group in their separate books. This is JSA at its best. Kobra is a great villainous organization, keeping ahead of the JSA so the reader really has to wonder/guess how the JSA will finally nail their evil asses. The art by Kramer, Edward, and Babinski is superb and Power Girl really looks tough and well-suited to her role as group leader. Trautmann has a strong handle on these characters, with their personalities shining through. Mr. Terrific is, well, terrific, walking the fine line between being a JSAer and a top player in Checkmate. The conclusion should be great. I'll be very disappointed if it isn't.