A Multitude of Reviews

Got some quick reviews from this week and last. Lots of good stuff here.

Hawkeye 13
A welcome sight! It's been too long. This issue fills in a few gaps re: Clint's activities, which apparently involved a lot of drinking, getting hurt, drinking, talking to a cop about Grills, and hanging with his brother. And I'm starting to think we'll never see Clint without a bandage or two. I so love this book.

Jennifer Blood 32
Another look at the characters affected by Jennifer Blood's actions, this time, one of her cousins. A rather affecting story. Violence seems contagious, along with standing up for oneself. If only the two didn't have to go together so often.

Red Hood and the Outlaws 24
One of the very few mainstream DC books I'm still reading. Roy is wallowing in self-pity, realizing, rightly, that he's screwed up, again. Jason is leading the fight against the Untitled, and the true force behind the plot is revealed. Which really isn't a surprise (I saw future solicits). However, it makes for an interesting endgame, once we get there. Jason vs. Ra's al Ghul; will he have Kori and Roy at his side? Not to mention there's more to Jason's memory wipe than what we've been led to believe. But the best part of the book was the talk between Roy and Cheshire, an honest conversation without all the snark and sniping. I'm still enjoying this and expecting a solid payoff when we reach the end of this story arc.

Batwoman 24
The last issue by the current team. And left in a cliffhanger. I plan to drop this book, but I might stick with it just to see how this is ended by the new team. I hate leaving things this way. Zero Year is next, so that means sticking with it through December at the least.

Red Sonja 4
Gail Simone continues to entertain with her version of Red Sonja. Sonja continues to recover from the plague and we get more flashbacks to her time fighting with Annisia in the pits. Looks like we'll get back to the main story next issue.

Nightwing 24
If I want to drop this title, this issue is the perfect place. Forced to work with Zucco to end the threat to Chicago, Dick winds up learning that justice is better than revenge, or something like that, with Zucco turning himself in after. But then, when he learns his second family has left him, he reverts to the old Zucco, which says something about changing for the better being a fleeting thing and that perhaps, his new, honest life was really just a lie, a facade to hide his true self. If he'd really been remorseful and trying to change, to be a better man, the loss wouldn't have turned him back to the dark side. Whether I continue with the book or not, it's been a pretty solid 24 issues.

World's Finest 16
I'm not overly fond of the art. McDaniel's breakdowns are fine, but the finished art by RB Silva and Joe Weems just looks odd to me. I don't like the faces. As for the story, mostly Kara tries to deal with her powers being screwed up. Since I love these characters, I'll stick with the book for now.

Lazarus 4
I love this book. It's dark, but not without some fun moments. I really like Forever, and her relationship with Joacquim, the Morray family Lazarus. Some nice family in-fighting and machinations here, with a satisfying resolution for the first arc and enough intrigue to entice me back for more. At the end, Forever gets her first clue that she might not be who or what she's been led to believe. Solid storytelling in this book. Rucka is a top writer and Lark's art suits the story perfectly.

Fairest 20
The eyeball on the cover was, uh, eye-catching. ;) The current story comes to an end, with Charming taking Nalayani to Fabletown. I'd say more about this, but I've forgotten the details since I read it a week ago and I don't feel like re-reading it. But it was good, it was fun, and I enjoyed it muchly.