Seriously! I can so picture Ragdoll as the Boy Wonder. Can't you?Secret Six 9
Written by Gail Simone; Art by Nicola Scott and Doug Hazlewood; Cover by Nicola Scott
Not one, but two members of the Secret Six feel they deserve to wear Batman's cowl, and they return to Gotham City with a semi-delusional Ragdoll determined to be the new Boy Wonder! Unfortunately, everybody in Gotham has other plans!
Thursday, February 19, 2009
May Solicits
There are a number of comics from DC in May that look interesting, even cool, but none has me as eager to read it as this one:
Monday, February 16, 2009
So Many Comics
I've been falling behind again. I can blame an addiction to a Facebook game, but really, it's more my inability to concentrate for long on anything. Still feeling like crap, but I did enjoy the dealers' room at Comic Con and I have read some comics. Here's the latest batch of brief reviews.
Blue Beetle 35
This looks to go out with a bang. Jamie as a leader of a scarab army! Or rather, Blue Beetle as the leader. I'm really going to miss this book.
Booster Gold 17
Trying to keep track of the time paradoxes can give me a headache, so I just sit back and enjoy the ride. Booster and Booster sounds like a dream team for next ish.
Nightwing 153
As much as anyone, Peter Tomasi gave Dick Grayson a life that was both independent of Batman and integrated in the Bat family. Since Tomasi took over writing chores, the book, and Dick (literally, with the sky diving), have soared. Now, in this last issue, Tomasi gave us a gift in the form of a nice character study in the wake of Batman's death. The Origins and Omens backup was nice, too, with Dick giving Babs a special gift. I will really miss this book.
Titans 10
Best I can say about this is it didn't suck. It wasn't much good, either. I'm really tired of Jericho.
Green Arrow and Black Canary 17
A bit disjointed. There are hints of possibly an interesting story here, but the execution is rather ordinary. So is the art. This book could be wonderful, but so far, it hasn't come close. At least Judd Winick, for all his faults, wrote some fun byplay and sassy dialogue for Ollie and Dinah.
Vixen: Return of the Lion 5
Aside from the 5 of 6 on the cover, this story reached The End and in a most satisfying fashion. Mari has fully embraced her power and her life and helped save the JLA. The art was stunning, too.
Trinity 35-37
Typical mid-story, with lots of myth telling and partial remembering. Still entertaining.
Wonder Woman 28
One of those annoying Faces of Evil covers. This features Cheetah, but really, it's still about Genocide. I'm really liking what Gail is doing in exploring the meaning of Diana's lasso. Cool stuff.
Batman 685
A Faces of Evil issue featuring Catwoman, so I'm pretending this is a Catwoman book and given the gorgeous cover, what else could it be? I don't read Batman or Detective, but with with Bats gone and the supporting cast being featured, I'll be getting a few. In this, Selina runs her own op, with a little help from a couple of friends.
Secret Six 6
This just keeps getting better and better, Gail Simone at her quirky best. Lawton's betrayal of the group is a sharp reminder that this wasn't a team but an agreement of like-minded individuals that mattered only when they had the same goal. They're people who do bad things, sometimes to each other. Cool stuff, enhanced by the dark coloring and graphic art.
Final Crisis Revelations 5
My favorite of the complementary series to Final Crisis, probably because Rucka is such a good writer. The life and death struggles, the pitting of good against evil, the characterizations -- especially of Renee and Helena -- and the resolution for Spectre made this a standout issue.
Final Crisis 7
I've read a lot of reviews of this. A lot. And I still don't quite get it. Maybe because there were so many weeks/months between issues. If I find the time --HA! -- I'll read this straight through, and maybe then it will feel cogent, but I doubt it. So much is left off panel. And for some bizarre reason, it doesn't matter that I haven't been able to follow the whole storyline, that I seem to have missed details, probably because my knowledge of the whole DCU is lacking in some areas. There was so much to enjoy. The art was great. And the panels were packed with intriguing and fun character bits. All those Supermen! Now to see how everything shakes out across the DCU.
Blue Beetle 35
This looks to go out with a bang. Jamie as a leader of a scarab army! Or rather, Blue Beetle as the leader. I'm really going to miss this book.
Booster Gold 17
Trying to keep track of the time paradoxes can give me a headache, so I just sit back and enjoy the ride. Booster and Booster sounds like a dream team for next ish.
Nightwing 153
As much as anyone, Peter Tomasi gave Dick Grayson a life that was both independent of Batman and integrated in the Bat family. Since Tomasi took over writing chores, the book, and Dick (literally, with the sky diving), have soared. Now, in this last issue, Tomasi gave us a gift in the form of a nice character study in the wake of Batman's death. The Origins and Omens backup was nice, too, with Dick giving Babs a special gift. I will really miss this book.
Titans 10
Best I can say about this is it didn't suck. It wasn't much good, either. I'm really tired of Jericho.
Green Arrow and Black Canary 17
A bit disjointed. There are hints of possibly an interesting story here, but the execution is rather ordinary. So is the art. This book could be wonderful, but so far, it hasn't come close. At least Judd Winick, for all his faults, wrote some fun byplay and sassy dialogue for Ollie and Dinah.
Vixen: Return of the Lion 5
Aside from the 5 of 6 on the cover, this story reached The End and in a most satisfying fashion. Mari has fully embraced her power and her life and helped save the JLA. The art was stunning, too.
Trinity 35-37
Typical mid-story, with lots of myth telling and partial remembering. Still entertaining.
Wonder Woman 28
One of those annoying Faces of Evil covers. This features Cheetah, but really, it's still about Genocide. I'm really liking what Gail is doing in exploring the meaning of Diana's lasso. Cool stuff.
Batman 685
A Faces of Evil issue featuring Catwoman, so I'm pretending this is a Catwoman book and given the gorgeous cover, what else could it be? I don't read Batman or Detective, but with with Bats gone and the supporting cast being featured, I'll be getting a few. In this, Selina runs her own op, with a little help from a couple of friends.
Secret Six 6
This just keeps getting better and better, Gail Simone at her quirky best. Lawton's betrayal of the group is a sharp reminder that this wasn't a team but an agreement of like-minded individuals that mattered only when they had the same goal. They're people who do bad things, sometimes to each other. Cool stuff, enhanced by the dark coloring and graphic art.
Final Crisis Revelations 5
My favorite of the complementary series to Final Crisis, probably because Rucka is such a good writer. The life and death struggles, the pitting of good against evil, the characterizations -- especially of Renee and Helena -- and the resolution for Spectre made this a standout issue.
Final Crisis 7
I've read a lot of reviews of this. A lot. And I still don't quite get it. Maybe because there were so many weeks/months between issues. If I find the time --HA! -- I'll read this straight through, and maybe then it will feel cogent, but I doubt it. So much is left off panel. And for some bizarre reason, it doesn't matter that I haven't been able to follow the whole storyline, that I seem to have missed details, probably because my knowledge of the whole DCU is lacking in some areas. There was so much to enjoy. The art was great. And the panels were packed with intriguing and fun character bits. All those Supermen! Now to see how everything shakes out across the DCU.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Black Canary Times 3
I picked up the new JLI Black Canary figure today and couldn't resist doing this shot of my 3 Black Canary figures. The one on the right is still my favorite.
I have a stack of comics ready to review and bigger stacks of comics to read. I'll get to them all, eventually.
Sunday, February 08, 2009
End of NYCC
I think I mentioned that I don't do panels really, anymore, at cons, nor do I get autographs and sketches, as a rule. First, I won't pay for an autograph, and I can afford only so much for sketches, and I hate waiting on lines for that. But I do like to get at least one moment with a favorite artist, if I can. Last year, it was Amanda Conner who nicely posed with one of my little Star Wars Stormtrooper action figures. This year, it was Jamal Igle.
He was very nice. We had a lovely chat about Supergirl. I explained my history with the character, growing up with Kara, boycotting DC for almost a decade after she was killed in Crisis, how happy I was to have her back, how frustrated I was with how she was depicted (the whole Super Slut period) and how I wanted to support the book and yet wanted the book changed to better reflect who she was (a teen girl!), which led to me telling him he saved Supergirl, because it isn't just the writing, but how normal and realistic she looks now. I bought the little booklet he had of his art and when I asked how much for him to do a quick headshot sketch of Kara inside, he said he'd do that gratis. He was super nice to do that, and I'm happy to add this to my collection.
Friday, February 06, 2009
NY Comiccon
I really prefer this in warmer weather. Last year, it was in April which was so nice. This year, I froze walking over to the Javits Center. The professional hours were earlier this year, from 10 am to 1 pm, and I didn't get there until after 11 am, to discover the computer system was down and I had to wait in a very long line that wasn't moving. After nearly 40 minutes, someone came around with generic Professional passes, so I was able to get in and enjoy relatively empty aisles for about an hour before the con officially opened. I picked up my official weekend pass late in the afternoon. I get the professional registration because I'm a librarian.
I used to do more at cons when I was younger. I used to go to panels. I used to get autographs. Now, I just shop in the dealers' room, mostly buying toys and checking out the previews. In the old days, getting autographs meant asking folks for them. Now, you have to get on line and pay, or buy something. I mostly take pictures, now, like this one of Neal Adams. I did get, for free, an autograph and drawing from David Horvath of Ugly Doll fame. I bought a few things earlier in the day, though, because, well, they're Ugly Dolls!
There weren't many new toys that interested me, and fewer previews than usual. MindStyle wasn't there, and Diamond Select didn't have much upcoming at all. And they didn't have the latest Stargate SG1 series 5 action figures, due out sometime in the future. They're in a box somewhere. They might be set up tomorrow. I did ask and get answers about the frequent delays and such. DC had some nice figures, busts, and statues, but I seem to recall more last year. Tonner had some lovely DCU dolls, though. The GL doll pic is for you, Sally!
Sunday, February 01, 2009
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