Latest Reviews

I neglected this poor blog for so long, I hope folks are still reading. I haven't gotten many comments since I've been posting more or less regularly again, so I hope some people are enjoying what I have to say. Here's what I recently read.

Red Hood and the Outlaws 14
After Rocafort's art, most everything else pales by comparison. Alixe's art is okay, but Roy's hair seems to have grown a lot given not much time has passed and he's a bit more muscular than he's been in this book. Rocafort's cover is lovely. Superman guests and I have no real feeling for him since I'm not reading the Superman titles. I don't even know if he's in character for his current incarnation. I can say he didn't impress me. Nor can I figure out why he even appeared in the book as nothing much was accomplished. He had a question to ask re: some aliens seeking out other aliens, Kori answered and that was essentially that.

There's a hint of a story to come from Roy's pov, but first, we've got the Joker's latest anti-Bat Family plot to deal with. Isabel, the voice of reason in mediating between the team and Supes, becomes a plot point for Jason re: the Joker storyline. It would be easy to say she's being fridged, but Jason's the guy the Joker would be after. There's no way this title could logically avoid being involved in the Death of the Family event story. Even in this DC universe, the Joker killed Jason, so it's kinda personal between them. And with Isabel a civilian Jason is dating, it stands to reason the Joker would seek to go after Jason through her. I just hope she survives and sticks around because I really like her.

I picked up issue 9, leaving only #8 that I'm missing. This was a Night of the Owls crossover, which I know only from the Nightwing issue, with the team forced to protect Mr. Freeze. Rocafort's art is a thing of beauty, especially the ice constructions. The story was fine, given it was connected to something larger that I didn't read.

World's Finest 6
Huntress and Power Girl of the DCnU's Earth 2 on Earth 1 meet the current Robin/Damian. As I'm not reading the Bat books other than Nightwing, it was nice to discover that Damian is as annoying and adorkable as ever. And much as I love George Perez's art (the PG pages), I'm really digging Keven Maguire's art (the Huntress pages). His art is nice and clean, with wonderful character expressions which sometimes make me think of Amanda Connor's work. Damian discovers Helena stealing from Wayne Enterprises, but it turns out she's not the only one doing that, so she, PG, and Damian need to join forces to find the other thief. This isn't a heavyweight title, but it is fun.

Nightwing 14
Nightwing vs Lady Shiva. His injured ribs put him at a disadvantage, which she notices and takes into account. They make for intriguing adversaries, as does Dick's relationship of sorts with banker Sonia Branch, whose father killed Dick's parents. The story dealt mostly with Dick trying to find Shiva's target and protect Sonia, while also setting up the Joker story with our favorite loon visiting Raya Vestri in her jail cell. I'm starting to worry that Dick's going to lose his investment in Haley's Circus and Amusement Mile, as well as losing the circus and Amusement Mile, themselves. The guest creative team of writer DeFalco and Guinaldo and Irwin on art did a good job.

Phantom Lady and Doll Man 1-3
I took a chance on this because Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti have never disappointed me. Plus, Amanda Connor did the cover for issue 1. These are characters I've read but have no vested emotional connection to, so I didn't have to be won over. I just needed to be entertained and that's what Gray and Palmiotti are doing here. Writing an entertaining book. Cat Staggs is handling pencils, with Tom Derenick inking. I don't think I've ever gotten a book done by Staggs before, and I have to say, I'm loving the art. The new versions of the characters are fun and while their origins are a bit vague scientifically, as in glossed over, the backstory is solid.

Phantom Lady is Jennifer Knight, a crusading reporter following in the shoes of her father who was killed, along with Jennifer's mother, when he tried to get the goods on the notorious, murderous Bender family. Doll Man is her friend and sometimes lover Dane, who is a scientific genius and a bit of an idiot. They make for a good, and fun, team. A definite addition to my pull list.