More Weekly Reviews

I love when I can get most or all the week's comics read on the subway ride home from Forbidden Planet.

First up is Red Hood and the Outlaws 23
I'm still not sure where James Tynion IV is taking this, but despite Roy acting like an idiot (which I admit is a big part of his personality and part of his charm), and the need for a scorecard to keep track of the villains and which group is less trustworthy than the other, I'm not ticked off yet, which is a good thing. The art by Gopez and a team of inkers is nice enough if disjointed from page to page. Not much happens storywise, but things do move ahead, with Kory joining the battling groups but not in time to stop Roy from doing something they may all come to regret.

Jennifer Blood 30
I can't explain my fascination with this book. Essentially, it's a female version of Dexter. I'd thought I'd be reading about a woman who was a housewife and mother by day and vigilante by night, but this is darker than I expected. Jennifer/Jessie is a total whack job, expert in killing and denial. But where I got bored with Dexter, I find myself compelled to keep reading this, possibly because our anti-hero here has been exposed, has been convicted and imprisoned, and is currently on the run after escaping from prison. All she wants is her kids back, kids who are understandably terrified of her. When she kills scum, you can root for her, but then she goes and slaughters the FBI agents hunting for her and you root for her to get what she deserves. Yet when she runs into someone nastier and more deceitful than she is, you have to root for her because now her kids are in jeopardy, though of course, it's really her fault. Truthfully, I'm impressed they've managed to keep this title going and so far, haven't fallen into a same old same old routine. I'm curious to see how far they can take this premise.

Batwoman 23
Kate and Mags have a bonding moment thanks to some fear toxin, Betty shows off her interrogation skills, and maybe we'll finally get to the main event next issue: Batwoman vs Batman. Nice character bits though made this worth reading.

Fairest 18
I'm caught up on this title, so will now start sharing my thoughts on it. I love this book. I don't read too many anthology books, as in comics without a starring character and ongoing storyline. I never got around to reading Fables, though I have the first GN sitting on a shelf somewhere waiting patiently for me to read it. This is good stuff, with each story able to soar on its own merits. In the middle of the current story, this issue fills in a lot of backstory and sets up next issue.

Batman and Nightwing 23
I bought this because Nightwing shows up in the story, but really, he didn't have much to do. The emotional heart of the story is Alfred, and Bruce is reminded that he's not the only one who lost a "son" when Damian was killed. A bit sniffly there at the end.