Counting Down to DCnU

Just two more months of the old DCU. And here are reviews of 3 books I'll miss more than I can say.

Detective 879 is everything a good Bat comic and a good comic should be. The focus is on Commissioner Gordon and his son James. The back-and-forth storytelling that alternates between goings-on with the Joker's latest escape scheme and Jim trying to figure out what his son is up to is masterful, and next issues climax promises to be great. Scott Snyder is the perfect writer for this book and Francesco Francavilla's art has been the perfect complement to the writing. Kudos all around. This team deserves a longer run on this book, with these characters, Dick as Batman, and the DCU as is.

Batgirl 23 is another book that epitomizes the best of comics, especially for folks young and old who like their comics to be fun as well as full of chills and thrills. Steph gets a little help from powerful friends and that last panel promises the next and last issue will be a fitting end to this incredible ride we've been on.

Geez, I feel like I'm at a never ending wake. Birds of Prey 14, however, is less than the perfection it is in Gail Simone's hands and most any other artist who's worked on the book. The story, featuring Zinda, the original Phantom Lady, and Black Canary, is ably being written by Marc Andreyko who has a proven track record with female characters, especially the current Manhunter. It's too bad the art isn't up to par. After a lovely cover by Billy Tucci, we get into the story, which has its roots in the past. The flashback scenes are fairly nicely drawn, but the present-day scenes just make the women look ugly. Based on Tucci doing the cover, I'm guessing he did the flashbacks and Adriana Melo, credited as the second penciller, must have done the current scenes. I'm not familiar enough with either's work to know for sure. And to confuse things, the first page is a rather nice full page panel with the gals looking fairly nice, but as soon as you turn the page, things take a nasty turn with pinched faces that make them all look like they're wearing ancient girdles that are too tight. I hated that Gail wasn't bringing the book to a close, herself, but was fine with Andreyko doing the writing. I just wanted it to be nice to look at, too.