Reviews Reviews Reviews

Since we're now in Brightest Day (review of issue 0 soon), I'll skip reviewing the last issues of the Blackest Night, except to say I like how it ended, even if Ralph and Sue are still dead. How Boston Brand deals with being alive (and does he still have a twin brother named Cleveland? I can't keep track of all the retconning in the DCU that happened in the 10 years I wasn't reading comics), which is somewhat more dramatic than the other characters restored to life, will be my major interest in this. I don't care much about Max Lord, given I know him only from the storyline that led to him killing Ted Kord and then Diana killing him. I am happy it's Shiera Hall who's back and not Kendra, though it would be nice if she remembers her life as Kendra. Brightest Day should be good. Let's see if it lives up to expectations.

Detective 863
Great ending to the Batwoman story with a neat dual storyline for her and for Bats. Edgy stuff. And I'm thrilled beyond belief with the plot twist at the end involving Betty. The Question story is taking some intriguing turns and I wish there were more pages for it.

Gotham City Sirens 10
Fun stuff, and I suspect the Riddler will be back on the wrong side of the law sooner rather than later. Every issue, I'm amazed once more by how much I enjoy it.

Wonder Woman 42
What started as a meh story for me -- another aliens out to destroy Earth plot -- took a sharp turn into "Whoa, that's interesting" with the reveal at the end that turns the whole thing into something personal for Diana and once again, plays with the Wonder Woman/Amazon mythology. Now I can't wait for the next issue. 

Batgirl 9
I love the cover. Stephanie looks fierce, while still looking girlish. She's not a mature woman on that cover, not sexualized, but clearly, someone who is in charge of herself. After I stared at the cover for a while, I read the story. And any story with the Calculator works for me. I like Wendy and how things are progressing in that regard. And I'm wondering, given Oracle's mentoring of Steph, what will happen when Birds of Prey resumes. Does Steph become one of the Birds? Or does Babs divide her time between the Birds and helping Steph.

(The Fall of) Green Arrow 32
Not what I expected. Ollie's been exposed. He's arrested, tried, found not guilty, and exiled from Star City. There's some good character stuff in here, especially between Dinah and Ollie and I guess it's unlikely they'll ever be together again, which saddens me nearly as much as Lian's death. I had hopes for a Nick and Nora Charles vibe from them in this book. And while everything Dinah told Ollie was true -- he does push people away -- they were, at their best, a great couple.

I did have quibbles with the book. Ollie's ready to meet his fate, He killed and is ready for punishment. He thinks, once he's found Not Guilty, that the jury made a mistake. But why was he on trial? Why didn't he just plead Guilty, get sentenced, and ... well, we know why. He needs to not be in prison so the book can continue with him moving on to his next phase as Green Arrow, even if how that happens makes no sense character-wise and story-wise.

I wish Roy had appeared. I hope there finally is a scene or two between Ollie and Roy in the Rise and Fall of Arsenal mini, because they need to confront each other.

Secret Six 20
The moral of this story is: Don't mess with Catman or any of the Six. They aren't like normal people. Thomas reacted to the extortion/threat to his son just as I'd hope he would. And I loved that Cheshire says she doesn't want to lose another child. I love the continuity in that. I love when a writer acknowledges other things going on in the universe that affect the characters they're writing. Kudos to Gail Simone for that. And for keeping this book so good that it's one of my must read first books.