Abundance of Reviews

Playing catch-up.

Detective 853
I don't think I posted a review of the first part of this 2-parter by Neil Gaiman. That was, as I recall, in an issue of Batman. This was delayed, I guess since I've mostly forgotten the first half which I read right away. It had to do with Batman's funeral. A rather surreal funeral that continues here with all sorts of people talking. Bat foes all claim credit for killing Bats and by the end, I couldn't help wondering what the point was. This seemed to be Bruce reflecting on his life as he is dying, but given what we now know about his death, it makes no sense to me. Andy Kubert's art is nice. But I was expecting more from such a big name writer as Gaiman. Or am I missing something because the only Bat books I've read since returning to comics in the mid-'90s have been BoP, Nightwing, and an occasional Robin, plus the Huntress Year One and Robin Year One minis.

Supergirl 40
Okay, I didn't see that coming. Maybe because I'm not a regular reader of the Superman books other than Supergirl, but really, I was surprised by the big reveal. I will not reveal it here, not even with a spoiler warning. That just wouldn't be fair because it's hard to not see something like that even with a warning. I loved the cover, but I wish it had more closely matched the last panel of the story. Inside, Kara pulls off Superwoman's mask, having figured out who she is. On the cover, a shcoked Kara stares at Superwoman, seen from behind, who reveals herself. The cover is lovely, but I would've prefered an angry or determined Kara yanking off Superwoman's mask on the cover, without revealing her face.

Trinity 47
More of the same, not as good a weekly as 52 was, but as good or sometimes better than Countdown to Crisis was. Almost over now; I hope to see a big finish.

Justice League of America 32
All I can say is, huh? Which beats my first reaction: WTF? A lot of people have recently decried the boobification of DC's covers lately. Oracle is viewed from above, her cleavage on display. And there have been others. But the Oracle cover didn't bother me. The GA/BC cover was simply ugly, which fit nicely with the story inside, so it didn't bother me, either. But I don't get this cover at all, as in Why is Dr. Light on the cover representing the JLA when she's just joined the team and isn't a big name, hardly a selling point. As in Why is she in the grasp of the latest big bad who is biting her neck while she appears to be unconscious. Yeah, that'll pump up sales, among the Love to See Women Victimized crowd. Seriously, sexy women? Not a problem for me. Show some cleavage/skin? Fine as long as it's a grown woman and not a teen girl like Kara. And while showing our heroes in danger is always a good way to hook readers -- the Ooo, how will they get out of that deathtrap? factor -- it is preferable for the good guys/gals to actually be fighting to survive. She tried to fight back in the story, so why not on the cover. Why is she ... uh... out like a light? This annoys me. Not the sexy art (provided it's anatomically correct/possible/doesn't defy the laws of physics/anatomy), but this crap that demeans Dr. Light, while giving no real sense of the group aspect of a group book.

As for the story, half is talking heads talking talkity talk. So nice to hear Supes explain to Dinah why they made her leader and why the JLA needs her and then to see the remainder of the team she disbanded get together to keep it going and talking about Dinah, yadda yadda yadda, so that by the time the actual story starts, we have time for Shadow Thief to resurrect Starbreaker who drains Dr. Light's power or much of it, for himself, and then disappear with her going after him. And now Roy isn't in the book, away on leave, so why am I still reading this? I know people didn't like how Brad Meltzer paced his stories, being that he's a novelist who is used to having time for setup, but McDuffie is a practiced comics writer and his pacing is as bad or worse. At least Brad wrote interesting things happening and his talking heads scenes were on-target characterization.

Even the art by Rags Morales (pencils) and John Dell (inks) was ho-hum. Feh.

Zorro 10-12
This just gets better and better as California history and Spanish politics meets the superhero genre where the good guy wears a mask and a cape and carves a Z as a calling card, sometimes on the face of the enemy. This is a novel in comics that is paced just right.

The Lone Ranger and Tonto 2
This is a standalone followup to the first non-continuity Lone Ranger and Tonto. Not as strong as the Lone Ranger title, but a well told story about a town of monsters. Maybe. A good jumping on point for people curious about this new version of the beloved character.

Jack of Fables 32
Wherein Jack learns something that changes well, everything he knows about himself and puts a new spin on his relationship with the Page sisters. I so love this comic.

Battle for the Cowl: Commissioner Gordon
Always nice to see Gordon, especially when he's on his own, but really, was this actually necessary? It isn't memorable enough for me to be glad I got it, but it wasn't a waste of money, either.

Green Lantern 39
Agent Orange brings another color to the mix. heh I think we're gonna need a color chart before this is done and we're into Blackest Night. Another solid installment from Geoff Johns and Philip Tan's penciled art (inked by Jonathan Glapion) is stunning.

WildCats 8-10
Issue 8 featured Maxine, with fill-in art by Pete Woods whose art I like better on the book than Googe, although Googe does a nice job. I just don't like his style on the book and it seems Woods was aiming to keep to that style as best he could. Maxine isn't my favorite WildCat, but she was quite enjoyable in this story focusing on AIs and robots just trying to survive post-Armageddon. The next two issues continue the story of a lunatic Majestic. I love these characters, even if every carnation of them seems different than the last, and it's nice having them back on a regular basis.

Simon Dark 17-18
There had been no indication that the book was a limited series, so I don't know if this was planned to end here or it was canceled, though probably the latter is the case. In any rate, it all read like a horror novel and it ends in just the right way/place. It wasn't a favorite book, but I did get sucked in and will be sorry to not see it next month.

And that's it, until I read some more. Next up, a couple of issues of Madame Xanadu, and a whole lot more.

Quickies

I think I have too many interests. That would explain why I fall behind with everything. So, here are some quick thoughts on a few comics from the last two weeks.

Secret Six 8
Another steller issue. Worth it alone for the cover with Lawton at knife point. The change of pace socialization was well done and the Ragdoll backup was adorable.

Booster Gold 19
More goodness, with double Booster. And poor Michelle. I fear Booster might lose his sister again, for good.

Battle for the Cowl 2
If that really is Jason posing as Bats, I really wouldn't mind seeing him die again. That beating and stabbing of Tim was uncalled for. And Tim is better than that. Artwise, Tim was just plain off. He's supposed to still be a teen, right? In some panels, he looks as beefed up as Jason, if that really is him, or even Dick, especially in that last panel with the batarang sticking out of his chest. Just because he's wearing the uniform doesn't mean he's suddenly a mature man. Or is he wearing padding, which would help that wound not be fatal. Dick was fine in this, but this is not making me suddenly want to buy all the Bat books, even if Dick does become Bats after this mini-series is over. I'll have to think long and hard if I want to read about Dick as Batman.

Oracle 2
I'm really enjoying this. Some cliche bits -- the thugs trying to mess with Babs played out predictably, and the geeks are appropriately geeky -- but Babs, her cover cleavage angle notwithstanding, is a strong force here.

Green Arrow and Black Canary 19
Not awful, not great, just so-so, average, run-of-the-mill storytelling. I'd hope for more from this book. At least Judd wrote fun dialogue. I'd hoped for something like Nick and Nora Charles from the Thin Man. This is more generic superhero married couple. Except that Dinah is getting on my nerves here.

The Spirit 27
A few people have said this is better, if not quite at the top level when Cooke was doing it, so I gave it a try, in the middle of a story, as it turns out, but it was better. The story has real weight and the art is fairly nice. I'll wait a bit before I put it back on my pull list, but I'm happy to see the improvement.

In a Flash

For once, a clever (I hope) post title. But before we get to the Scarlet Speedster, some other reviews.

Except for Nightwing, BoP, and Catwoman, I haven't read the Bat books for years. A lot of years. I even skipped the Batman RIP issues that weren't one of the aforementioned 3. So, here I am, reading the Battle for the Cowl and related titles (I'm skipping the Man-Bat one and maybe some others). The Gotham Gazette 1 issue was a fairly nice read, giving us glimpses of Vicki Vale, Stephanie Brown, and Leslie Tompkins coping with a much more dangerous Gotham. I did like that the focus was on women.

Batman: Battle for the Cowl 1 was pretty good, too, given that it featured Nightwing, along with Robin and Catwoman and others. Not sure where this is going or where I'd like it to go yet. I'm reserving judgment on this, and just going with the story.

Justice Society of America 25
Wow, I had tears in my eyes. It's sad to see Isis so depraved when once she was a stablizing influence on Black Adam, bringing out the shreds of goodness he still had. And boy was Shazam the Wizard pissed. While I would've liked to see him restore things to what they'd been re: the Marvel family, this was actually better. Wizards don't have to be all good and fair when they're on the side of right. This rang true. I hope Mary is finally "cured" of her dark side, even if she and Billy have lost their powers. But it was the page near the end when it's announced that everyone is staying with the JSA because, as Wildcat said: "You don't give up on family."

And now, Flash Rebirth 1
Disclaimer: I was never a big Barry Allen fan. I read the old Flash comics because back in the '60s and '70s, I was reading pretty much everything superhero that DC published. Atom. Hawkman. Atom and Hawkman. Green Lantern. Lois Lane. Even Jimmy Olson. And Flash was my least favorite. Well, except maybe for the Jimmy Olson book.

I never read Barry's death in Crisis on Multiple Earths. I'd stopped reading an issue or so before that with the death of the original Supergirl. I was a Kid Flash/Wally West fan (and even he wasn't my favorite sidekick/Teen Titan -- that was Speedy/Roy Harper). I read much of the Wally West Flash books and enjoyed them. While I was happy to have Ollie back from the dead and Hal rehabilitated, I was in no rush for Barry to return. What they did with him and the Speed Force in the recent Crisis made sense, or at least, didn't make no sense, so I'm okay with it. I just don't know where Rebirth is going and I'm not sure I care.

I'm trying to care, mostly for Jay and Wally, and Wally's wife and kids, characters I do love. I can understand how Barry feels disoriented, out of place. I can understand Wally feeling a bit displaced. But the whole issue felt kinda flat. The art was stunning, the facial expressions well drawn by Van Sciver, but much as I love Geoff Johns' writing, this didn't grab me the way the return of Green Lantern/Hal Jordan did. I'm gonna stick with it, because I trust Johns, but right now, something is missing for me. I'm just not sure what it is.