Some More Reviews Maybe Spoilerish

Green Lantern 48 and Blackest Night 5/8
GL was fairly routine, moving characters into place for Blackest Night. BN 5 was a bit of a shocker at the end. The whole nature of death in the DCU concept is being put to the test with Bruce's temporary animation and a setback for the heroes who've already cheated death at least once. With plenty more to come, the tension is definitely ratcheting up.

Flash Rebirth 5/6
Very nice, especially new costumes and Irey West's transformation after helping her brother, thanks to Liberty Belle. This series is really bringing home the whole Flash family feeling. Unlike the extended Bat family, these are characters who truly are a family, and many are related to each other. I can't wait for next issue. This started dully, but has become a most enjoyable read.

Supergirl 47
The character and plot complexities Gates has brought to this title have made me actually forget how awful this reboot of the Supergirl character and title was. Kara is firmly rooted in the Superman family, the insights into Kryptonian politics are well done, and Alura has become a fascinating character. The flashbacks to her courtship by Zor effectively show her personality and how she became the woman we see now. This has become one of the books I can't wait to read each month.

Streets of Gotham 6
A surprisingly sweet ending to the Man-Bat story, with a guest turn from Batman. I'm glad Kirk wasn't completely lost to Man-Bat. And finally, in the Manhunter story Kate and Dylan are reunited, sorta. I'm looking forward to seeing what comes next in that story!

Wonder Woman 38
Things are not going well for Diana. I don't usually have a problem with stories that bring heroes to the very brink of destruction, taking away all they have, getting back to their essence and seeing them triumph, but this is going on a bit long, I think. I was glad to see Donna, but I'm really wondering if the Amazons will be around when this is all over. And we've got Wonder Woman Blacknest Night coming, too. Oy vey.

Detective 859
I've been loving the flashbacks to Kate's childhood and how she became Batwoman. I love her relationship with her father. In fact, he's fast becoming one of my favorite supporting characters. And Kate's first encounter with Batman was priceless. Nothing special in the Question story, just a solid installment in the current story.

Gotham City Sirens 6
I don't know why I like this as much as I do. It's silly, but Harley is so over the top loopy, I can't help it. And with Ivy and Selina to keep things grounded, well, what can I say? I'm enjoying the fluff.

Still Catching Up

And I have some more reviews.

Batman and Robin 6
This continues to entertain. I didn't like Jason Todd before the Joker killed him, and while he's been at least interesting since his return from the dead, I haven't much liked him, but he's so over the top here, that I must admit to having enjoyed the reading experience. Red Hood's ploy to unmask Dick and Damian on TV based on an audience vote was priceless, especially the woman who tells her husband, "Don't you get it? He's gonna be naked!" For that alone, the issue was worth reading, but the rest of the story was good, too. Dick and Damian make for a good team. I'm really enjoying the dynamic, even more than I did for Bruce and Dick.

Batman 692-693
Nice to see some of Gotham's supporting characters joining in the fun. Dick trying to enlist Selina's help made for fun reading, and it was good to see Helena and Babs. I'd like to see more of Babs and Dick in this. They really are a good couple, despite all the bumps (and there were some big ones) in their relationship. I'd love to see them get back together.

Gotham City Sirens 5
They don't come any loopier than Harley, and that gives this book its heart and soul. She's in control even if Selina is the bigger star of the book. And a Joker wannabe was a nice twist in the tale.

Blackest Night 4 
Just stunning art by Reis and Albert and Prado inking. Mera never looked better. And I liked seeing her with so much panel time. Atom was handled well, as was Flash. Having Damage become a Black Lantern was a frightening turn of events, pushing the power levels to 100 per cent. Things have moved a bit slowly, but we're in the thick of it now.

Green Lantern 47
More battling, but the story doesn't move forward much here. The real action was apparently in Green Lantern Corps. I don't read that, so haven't picked up the Blackest Night issues, but I do know what happened there thanks to my fellow comic bloggers reviewing it and I hope those events will play out or affect the goings on in the Blackest Night books I am reading.

WildCats 15-16
Tao was always one scary villain and he's back! Even scarier and more diabolical than before. Nice byplay between Zealot and Majestros, giving Savant serious parent problems. I like the way this incarnation of the title is playing out.

Zorro 16
Good, as usual, but mostly setting up the next story arc. Yet, even what feels like filler is well done in this book.

I Might Never Catch Up

 Back from vacation and trying to get through the stacks and stacks of comics. It's an uphill battle, for sure. Here's what I read so far.

JSA vs Kobra 6/6
The end, but not. I like the ambiguous ending. Kobra is still out there, still a serious threat, yet the immediate danger is past. Trautmann nailed the characters and made Jason Burr truly scary. And the art by Kramer and Babinski was topnotch throughout the 6 issues. I love the realism. I love how the women, especially Power Girl looked sexy, not sexualized. This is the JSA I love and I will miss it.

Detective 858
Intriguing look at Kate's past in the Batwoman story and a nice conclusion to Renee's Question story. The book continues to entertain.

Wonder Woman 37
I'm not sure where Gail Simone is headed with her version of WW, but I'm happy to be along for the ride. It was nice seeing Donna and Amazonian politics sure can get complicated. I missed having Lopresti's art inside. Bernard Chang is okay, but he doesn't fully capture the beauty and elegance of Diana.

Secret Six 15
It doesn't get much better than this book. Even a fill-in story is cause for celebration, especially when Ostrander gives us a look into Deadshot's past. Calafiore's art is quite nice and LuVisi's cover rocked. This is Floyd in all his un-glory.

Batgirl 4
This is shaping up to be a book about empowerment, for females and for the disabled. Stephanie is a fresh, fun Batgirl, having Babs as her mentor keeps things grounded, and the continued appearance of Wendy as she tries to deal with her disability with Babs trying to help are setting a nice tone for the book. Even most of the supporting cast -- Leslie, Steph's mom -- keep this a female-centric title. I've now officially added this to my Pull List.

Booster Gold 26
Jaime guest stars, as does an undead Ted Kord in a solid Blackest Night crossover. I'm a bit confused by the flashes to Ted's funeral, though. As I recall, Michael didn't go help Ted go after Max because he was in the hospital, so Michael blaming himself for not being there for Ted seemed a bit of an over reaction.

Titans 19
No longer on my Pull List, but it featured Roy, so I bought it. That none of the other Titans appeared was almost a plus, as they'd become rather peevish and annoying and the reason I dropped the book. Okay, so the poor writing was the real reason, but still... the poor writing made them all annoying. It was nice to see Lian and Mia, even if no real new territory was covered -- single father trying to raise his daughter without influence of her assassin mom. We've seen this before. Still, the story served as a way to perhaps gracefully remove Roy from the Titans, perhaps, and covered his move with Lian to Star City. This might be the last time I see Roy, for a while, so it was a decent last story, not the trauma or botched story I'd been fearing. I'm not sure how Roy could afford to buy a house, or even rent one, as he has no visible means of support. With a number of his Titan friends joining the JLA while he's out of the League, Roy has been marginalized -- again -- by DC. I hope he'll show up somewhere again, but with my luck, it'll just be in Green Arrow and Black Canary which I stopped reading.

Speaking of GA/BC, I glanced through the latest issue at the comics shop and saw something about Ollie not being Ollie. Seriously, people. It's one thing to do a story where someone kidnaps the hero and a double takes his place, but to repeat it later on shows a lack of imagination, IMO. Still, if it gets Ollie and Dinah back on track, that's good. And if Roy starts appearing regularly in the book, I might have to return it to my Pull List.

On Vacation, But First...

Some reviews.

Power Girl 6
This is the side of PG we didn't/don't get to see in JSA. Between Amanda Conner's charmingly disarming art and Gray and Palmiotti's playful writing, this is a fun Power Girl and a fun book. I would like to see some more seriousness here, but Conner's cartoonish style doesn't lend itself to that sort of realism. She does draw some of the most expressive faces in comics, though, and this tale of alien women in over their heads comes to a nice conclusion. And we're treated to another scene of PG and Terra at the movies!

Streets of Gotham 5
I'm not sure where the Huntress story fits into the timeline because of the references to Oracle, making it seem as if the Birds of Prey are still going strong, whereas Babs elsewhere hasn't been running the Birds and is more interested in redefining herself and her goals and mentoring Stephanie as Batgirl. I was never the biggest Man-Bat fan -- he started to bore me after his first few appearances -- and the story felt like it was just treading water. The Manhunter story, however, rocked because Dylan is back! And he's in a heap of trouble. I adore Dylan so I hope Kate can get him out of this mess. Nice art by Haun, too.

Blackest Night Batman 3/3
A decent end to this three-parter. A guest turn by Deadman is always good and I didn't even mind Jason Blood/Etrigan. Tim (and Dick) dealt with some emotional baggage, and Damien was fun. He's the best Robin since Dick because he's very much his own person. And I loved Dick, uh, Batman saying "Robin," and Tim answering, only to have Dick saying, "the other Robin." A nice little running gag. As a tie-in, it worked because it fit the main event and still was a compelling story on its own, with a conclusion that still leaves things open to be resolved in the main event.

Green Lantern 46
Blackest Night continues, with Sinestro, Carol/Star Sapphire, and Hal brought together to face a common enemy without losing any of the tension you'd expect from an alliance between Hal and Sinestro. And that last page with Abin promises the next issue should be even better.

Supergirl Annual 1
The first story served mainly to reveal Kryptonians living among humans, but was otherwise ordinary. The second story, revealing how Lucy Lane became Superwoman, filled in the backstory nicely and leads into an upcoming storyline, promo'ed at the book's end. The art was a bit weird, though, with some rather exaggerated bodies and poses.

Supergirl 46
Reactron was a real baby once he got overpowered by Flamebird who lived up to her name. Nice character bits here. I'm so glad to have this book be a must-read, the way it should be.

No more reviews for a couple of weeks as I'll be away and not picking up new comics or reading any until I get back home. See ya then!

Some Comics I Read

I doubt I'll ever get caught up, but I did get some books read. Here they are, in brief.

Blackest Night 3
Stellar art from Reis (with Albert and Prado); everyone looked so real, including the dead guys. Johns packed a lot of character bits in this and the dialogue between Barry and Hal is priceless, really getting to the guts of their friendship and personalities. So far, this is living up to the hype.

Action 882
I don't usually read this, but did because of the Reactron storyline. Pere Perez did a nice job on the art and the story by Rucka and Gates moved along nicely. I probably could have managed without this chapter, but I'm glad I read it.

Batman 691
Judd Winick is doing some of his best writing on this book. He also had a good feel for Dick (and the other original Teen Titans, including Roy Harper) and it's on fine display here. Dick and Two-Face have a bit of history together, so Harvey makes a good villain here. The differences and similarities between Dick and Bruce are also made clear and I love the interactions between Dick and Alfred. And that last page... I can't wait to see why Bruce had that hidden file on Dick's parents' murder.

Booster Gold 25
Nice interaction with Booster and Dick/Batman (can't seem to bring myself to call Dick Bats) and I'm glad Booster confided in Dick. It brings things in line with Bruce having known the truth. The Blue Beetle back-up still leaves the questions about Black Beetle's identity unanswered. After all, why should we believe Black Beetle is who/what he claims to be? After all, he's evil and evil bad guys are not above lying if it will help distract the good guys. Jaime really wrestles with some strong emotions here and his development feel true.

Batgirl 3
I don't know how long this book can last, but Stephanie is definitely growing on me (I'd never really cared one way or another for her). I even teared up over Babs realizing how much Stephanie has grown into the role and will continue to grow. Babs might not be gearing up another round of Birds of Prey, but she's definitely coming out of her doldrums. Once Stephanie is established more fully as the new BG, I hope more supporting cast members who are not from the other Bat books are added. Some college friends for her would be nice.

Final Crisis: Escape 6/6
After a confusing ride, this ended better than I'd thought/feared. It was nice reading a story that showed off Tom's strengths. The whole Brother Eye bit worked well, too, even if the whole Brother Eye thing feels rather overused by now.

Two books this batch tie for best of the batch...

Secret Six 14
This book is filled with awesomeness. Nicola Scott et al did a bang-up job on the art and Gail Simone continues to razzle dazzle with these characters. Wonder Woman and the Amazons made wonderful guest stars, Catman's more heroic than he'd like anyone to think, and Lawton is well... Lawton. The best parts of the book, however, focus on Bane and Scandal. Bane taking over and tossing Scandal off the team is a great twist and should make for some extra tension in the next issue or two.

JSA vs Kobra 5/6
*sigh* One more issue of the real JSA. I love this group. This group. Not the splintered group in their separate books. This is JSA at its best. Kobra is a great villainous organization, keeping ahead of the JSA so the reader really has to wonder/guess how the JSA will finally nail their evil asses. The art by Kramer, Edward, and Babinski is superb and Power Girl really looks tough and well-suited to her role as group leader. Trautmann has a strong handle on these characters, with their personalities shining through. Mr. Terrific is, well, terrific, walking the fine line between being a JSAer and a top player in Checkmate. The conclusion should be great. I'll be very disappointed if it isn't.

Six Overdue Reviews

Work's been a bitch lately and most nights, I just come home and veg in front of the computer with the TV on. But I have read some comics and should post the reviews before I get too far behind on that, just like I am with the reading.

Detective 857
The art by JH Williams is so striking on the Batwoman feature. A nice resolution to the opening arc, with some mystery remaining re: Alice. And I love how Kate's father is being used. He's her "Alfred" and more. Nicely done. The Question continues to entertain, but the first arc has yet to end, so I'm reserving full judgment til it does.

Gotham City Sirens 4
This is a real whacked out book with whacked out characters (geez, is that expression right? I feel so old sometimes). Harley and the Joker make for the oddest couple and it's hard to find any main character loonier than Harley. The Justice League preview pages at the end annoyed me, taking pages away from the Sirens story (although they were better than ads would have been, I suppose, while sort of being an in-house ad). Mainly, though, the preview reinforced my decision to drop Justice League from my Pull List. That really isn't a group I want to read about.

Wonder Woman 36
This was full of awesomeness. I know that ultimately, Tom and Diana couldn't work, but it was so sad to see the breakup. And Diana teaming with Giganta was great fun. Gail has hit her stride with this book now and Lopresti is proving himself one of the best artists to take on Wonder Woman.

Power Girl 5
The female lead characters continue to shine at DC with PG here. This is not heavy duty angsty storytelling, but simply comics as fun. Palmiotti and Gray really get PG as a character and Amanda Conner, despite her cartoonish style, or maybe because of it, draws some of the best expressions in comics.

Supergirl 45
Continuing the awesomeness. Kara trying to make sense of the Reactron mess, while trying to not get captured, works well on its own, though I finally gave in and bought some of the other Superman titles so I can follow this storyline better.

Batman and Robin 5
God, I love this cover. Never thought I'd say this, but Damien makes a great Robin and is the perfect complement to Dick as Batman. Tim is a bit too much like Dick and too old for the sidekick role, while Damien is just different enough and the right age. It's the opposites that make for a great team-up: Dick being more grounded and light-hearted to Bruce's control freakness and moodiness and now Damien's pragmatism and impulsiveness, not to mention understandable cold-bloodedness (thanks to his mother and grandfather and even his father) coupled with Dick's maturity and practicality. Dick is now a nice blend of his younger self and Bruce's best traits, which makes him a good mentor for Damien. Good stuff.

Back in Stock

But maybe not for long. Forbidden Planet NY got the DC Classics figs from a few weeks ago back in stock, and I was able to get Ollie, even though he looked to be selling better than the others and will probably be sold out again soon. But at least now I can pose him with Dinah.