Friday, July 29, 2016

Full Week

Thanks to DC Rebirth, I'm reading more comics than I have in years. Which means it takes more time to read 'em most weeks. At least they're good. Good comics is a good thing. I'll start off with the Marvels, take a detour with Dynamite, then tackle the DCs.

Steve Rogers Captain America 3
I honestly don't know where this is going. Steve doesn't seem to fully be going along with Red Skull's agenda, at least with the whole killing thing. Jack Flag is still alive though critically injured, and Red Skull wants him dead. And I don't know what's up with Dr. Selvig. What I'm most liking about this series is the false memory flashbacks Steve is having, which do a good job showing how good people can get sucked in by an evil organization that poses as something good and empowering. It resonates in today's political climate.

Ms. Marvel 9
Unlike Captain Marvel -- which I'm not even bothering to review because it was a lot of talk, with Carol trying to justify her actions and succeeding -- this Civil War tie-in does an excellent job dealing with consequences of those actions. How ethical is it to lock someone up for a crime they're predicted to commit in the future? And when not everyone is in agreement about that, who is responsible when things go awry? Kamala wants to follow the instructions of her mentor, Captain Marvel, but doing so is proving more difficult than she bargained for. Plus, we get more flashbacks to Kamala's family history. I'm not sure how that will ultimately tie in with the present mess, but I trust G. Willow Wilson to deliver the goods here.

Mockingbird 5
The first arc ends in an odd fashion. The first 5 issues form some sort of puzzle box that had me scratching my head a bit, but the storyline was fun. I can't complain when Howard the Duck guest stars.

Miss Fury 4
Things get supernatural with the appearance of demons summoned by the parents of Marla's friend. Not as awesome as the previous run that dealt with time travel and parallel time, but entertaining, none the less.

Harley Quinn 30
This ends the pre-Rebirth run, though the same team will continue with the new/same book. Harley juggles a lot of things, including saving a tree from being destroyed for urban development. Best are the gorgeous cover by Conner and Sinclair and the dream/nightmare Harley has in a movie theater showing "The Kill Yourself Crew" to remind us that "Suicide Squad" is opening soon. The art by Charretier is lovely.

Wonder Woman 3
Diana tries to get Cheetah to help her find Themyscira, but first has to help Barbara Ann deal emotionally with the Cheetah curse. It's a very moving chapter in this opening arc. Plus, Steve and his team head into the nest of vipers they're trying to capture. Rucka is doing a great job with this book.

Flash 3
Barry and his speeded-up friend August deal with speeded-up folks who are using their newfound speed to commit crimes, which brings them to the STAR Labs Speed Force Training Center to help people deal with what's happened to them. But of course, things don't always go according to plan. Pretty darned fun.

Nightwing 1
There's a real throwback feel to Javier Fernandez' art, especially for the backstory scenes leading into the main story as we once more delve into Dick's life in the circus. After stopping off at the Batcave and then having a quick chat with Batgirl, Dick heads out to work for the Court of Owls so he can take them down from inside. But they don't think he's dedicated sufficiently to their cause, so they assign him a mentor -- Raptor -- who, to my annoyance, gets the drop on Dick and manages to get the upper hand in a skirmish. Is Dick holding back? Or was he that distracted/careless? It's not like him to be taken down so easily. I'm not sure I'm happy with this storyline, so soon after his undercover work in Spyral, but I'm trying to reserve judgment for now.

Titans 1
This made me very happy. All the Titans were in character! Lilith tries to probe Wally's memories, looking for clues about who stole time from them and everyone else, but only finds a lot of thoughts about Linda Park. Donna and Roy go hunting for clues and have a really nice talk, which includes Roy confiding in her that he'd been a drug addict and dealer. So, not just an alcoholic as he'd been in the New 52. Drug use gets back to what he'd done in his pre-New 52 history. Being an alcoholic is tough enough, but the drug abuse was something that was a part of his background for a long time, edgier, rougher, especially acknowledging that he sold the stuff to help support his habit. And telling Donna about it made for a really nice scene. Meanwhile, Linda is curious about the Flash who showed up as a ghostly form and knew her name, so she starts to investigate. And, in probing Wally's mind, Lilith accidentally woke a dormant mind elsewhere, and well, next issue should be very interesting.

3 comments:

  1. Ms. Marvel and Wonder Woman were both excellent, which wa nice. I am NOT happy with Capt. Marvel however. When is Civil War II going to ever be over?

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    1. Civil War can't end soon enough for me. And Capt. Marvel is acting like an arrogant jerk.

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