Some reviews.
Power Girl 6
This is the side of PG we didn't/don't get to see in JSA. Between Amanda Conner's charmingly disarming art and Gray and Palmiotti's playful writing, this is a fun Power Girl and a fun book. I would like to see some more seriousness here, but Conner's cartoonish style doesn't lend itself to that sort of realism. She does draw some of the most expressive faces in comics, though, and this tale of alien women in over their heads comes to a nice conclusion. And we're treated to another scene of PG and Terra at the movies!
Streets of Gotham 5
I'm not sure where the Huntress story fits into the timeline because of the references to Oracle, making it seem as if the Birds of Prey are still going strong, whereas Babs elsewhere hasn't been running the Birds and is more interested in redefining herself and her goals and mentoring Stephanie as Batgirl. I was never the biggest Man-Bat fan -- he started to bore me after his first few appearances -- and the story felt like it was just treading water. The Manhunter story, however, rocked because Dylan is back! And he's in a heap of trouble. I adore Dylan so I hope Kate can get him out of this mess. Nice art by Haun, too.
Blackest Night Batman 3/3
A decent end to this three-parter. A guest turn by Deadman is always good and I didn't even mind Jason Blood/Etrigan. Tim (and Dick) dealt with some emotional baggage, and Damien was fun. He's the best Robin since Dick because he's very much his own person. And I loved Dick, uh, Batman saying "Robin," and Tim answering, only to have Dick saying, "the other Robin." A nice little running gag. As a tie-in, it worked because it fit the main event and still was a compelling story on its own, with a conclusion that still leaves things open to be resolved in the main event.
Green Lantern 46
Blackest Night continues, with Sinestro, Carol/Star Sapphire, and Hal brought together to face a common enemy without losing any of the tension you'd expect from an alliance between Hal and Sinestro. And that last page with Abin promises the next issue should be even better.
Supergirl Annual 1
The first story served mainly to reveal Kryptonians living among humans, but was otherwise ordinary. The second story, revealing how Lucy Lane became Superwoman, filled in the backstory nicely and leads into an upcoming storyline, promo'ed at the book's end. The art was a bit weird, though, with some rather exaggerated bodies and poses.
Supergirl 46
Reactron was a real baby once he got overpowered by Flamebird who lived up to her name. Nice character bits here. I'm so glad to have this book be a must-read, the way it should be.
No more reviews for a couple of weeks as I'll be away and not picking up new comics or reading any until I get back home. See ya then!
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
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.
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.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Six Overdue Reviews
Work's been a bitch lately and most nights, I just come home and veg in front of the computer with the TV on. But I have read some comics and should post the reviews before I get too far behind on that, just like I am with the reading.
Detective 857
The art by JH Williams is so striking on the Batwoman feature. A nice resolution to the opening arc, with some mystery remaining re: Alice. And I love how Kate's father is being used. He's her "Alfred" and more. Nicely done. The Question continues to entertain, but the first arc has yet to end, so I'm reserving full judgment til it does.
Gotham City Sirens 4
This is a real whacked out book with whacked out characters (geez, is that expression right? I feel so old sometimes). Harley and the Joker make for the oddest couple and it's hard to find any main character loonier than Harley. The Justice League preview pages at the end annoyed me, taking pages away from the Sirens story (although they were better than ads would have been, I suppose, while sort of being an in-house ad). Mainly, though, the preview reinforced my decision to drop Justice League from my Pull List. That really isn't a group I want to read about.
Wonder Woman 36
This was full of awesomeness. I know that ultimately, Tom and Diana couldn't work, but it was so sad to see the breakup. And Diana teaming with Giganta was great fun. Gail has hit her stride with this book now and Lopresti is proving himself one of the best artists to take on Wonder Woman.
Power Girl 5
The female lead characters continue to shine at DC with PG here. This is not heavy duty angsty storytelling, but simply comics as fun. Palmiotti and Gray really get PG as a character and Amanda Conner, despite her cartoonish style, or maybe because of it, draws some of the best expressions in comics.
Supergirl 45
Continuing the awesomeness. Kara trying to make sense of the Reactron mess, while trying to not get captured, works well on its own, though I finally gave in and bought some of the other Superman titles so I can follow this storyline better.
Batman and Robin 5
God, I love this cover. Never thought I'd say this, but Damien makes a great Robin and is the perfect complement to Dick as Batman. Tim is a bit too much like Dick and too old for the sidekick role, while Damien is just different enough and the right age. It's the opposites that make for a great team-up: Dick being more grounded and light-hearted to Bruce's control freakness and moodiness and now Damien's pragmatism and impulsiveness, not to mention understandable cold-bloodedness (thanks to his mother and grandfather and even his father) coupled with Dick's maturity and practicality. Dick is now a nice blend of his younger self and Bruce's best traits, which makes him a good mentor for Damien. Good stuff.
Detective 857
The art by JH Williams is so striking on the Batwoman feature. A nice resolution to the opening arc, with some mystery remaining re: Alice. And I love how Kate's father is being used. He's her "Alfred" and more. Nicely done. The Question continues to entertain, but the first arc has yet to end, so I'm reserving full judgment til it does.
Gotham City Sirens 4
This is a real whacked out book with whacked out characters (geez, is that expression right? I feel so old sometimes). Harley and the Joker make for the oddest couple and it's hard to find any main character loonier than Harley. The Justice League preview pages at the end annoyed me, taking pages away from the Sirens story (although they were better than ads would have been, I suppose, while sort of being an in-house ad). Mainly, though, the preview reinforced my decision to drop Justice League from my Pull List. That really isn't a group I want to read about.
Wonder Woman 36
This was full of awesomeness. I know that ultimately, Tom and Diana couldn't work, but it was so sad to see the breakup. And Diana teaming with Giganta was great fun. Gail has hit her stride with this book now and Lopresti is proving himself one of the best artists to take on Wonder Woman.
Power Girl 5
The female lead characters continue to shine at DC with PG here. This is not heavy duty angsty storytelling, but simply comics as fun. Palmiotti and Gray really get PG as a character and Amanda Conner, despite her cartoonish style, or maybe because of it, draws some of the best expressions in comics.
Supergirl 45
Continuing the awesomeness. Kara trying to make sense of the Reactron mess, while trying to not get captured, works well on its own, though I finally gave in and bought some of the other Superman titles so I can follow this storyline better.
Batman and Robin 5
God, I love this cover. Never thought I'd say this, but Damien makes a great Robin and is the perfect complement to Dick as Batman. Tim is a bit too much like Dick and too old for the sidekick role, while Damien is just different enough and the right age. It's the opposites that make for a great team-up: Dick being more grounded and light-hearted to Bruce's control freakness and moodiness and now Damien's pragmatism and impulsiveness, not to mention understandable cold-bloodedness (thanks to his mother and grandfather and even his father) coupled with Dick's maturity and practicality. Dick is now a nice blend of his younger self and Bruce's best traits, which makes him a good mentor for Damien. Good stuff.
Friday, October 02, 2009
Back in Stock
But maybe not for long. Forbidden Planet NY got the DC Classics figs from a few weeks ago back in stock, and I was able to get Ollie, even though he looked to be selling better than the others and will probably be sold out again soon. But at least now I can pose him with Dinah.
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