Reviews Weekly

Well, it seems as if I'm doing this by the week, not the day, anymore. I've had a nasty cold this week, but it's starting to get better. Anyway, here's what I read the last week or two. And I'm going to stop commenting on Trinity unless something super great or something I don't like happens, because it's been a nice, steady little weekly book and I rarely have anything interesting to say about it.

Titans 11
This has gotten rather tiresome. I buy it because Roy is in it. The whole day in the lives of the Titans seemed rather old, even as written by McKeever. And I didn't like the bickering between Roy and Donna. I don't like when she's written as meddling, even with people she cares about, and I don't like Roy sniping at her. If I thought this was going to build into something solid, like maybe them getting back together, fine, but I get no such sense. All it feels like is a hit-and-run bit among other hit-and-run bits of supposed character development. Sure, Donna can be a Mother Hen with her closest friends, but she's also been shown in the past resenting when they keep coming to her with their problems, which leaves her as a rather wishy-washy character and she isn't. Actually, this felt like a "let's mention Lian instead of actually showing her" kind of scene. Maybe a scene with Donna joining Roy and Lian at the park and having the discussion about leadership on the team might've been more interesting. Ah, well, we did get a glimpse of Lian in bed, so that's something. Meanwhile, the whole Raven/Gar relationship or non-relationship has me both confused and bored.

Secret Six 7
Wow. Gail really delivers with this story and this book. While I've found her run so far on Wonder Woman uneven, ranging from incredible to merely good, her work with this team has always been topnotch. This quirky band of villains and sometimes villains who may or may not give a shit about each other makes for entertaining reading and real emotion in her hands. And I think Tarantula nailed it when she theorizes that Lawton betrayed the team to save them, no matter his protestations otherwise. Lawton is definitely not a hero, but he's no villain, either. Like Catman, he's a complicated character who skirts the law for his own reasons. The climatic battle did not disappoint, nor did Scandal, at the end. And Scott and Hazlewood make for a super art team.

Green Arrow and Black Canary 18
I'd probably enjoy this more -- and the story is intriguing -- if Ollie wasn't acting more like a jerk than usual. Dinah's look of fear/horror on the cover didn't help, either, giving her the image of the "helpless female." Horror, fine. But anger and determination would've been better than fear. Actually, the whole pose of her and Ollie embracing with the body there made for a bizarre image that didn't fit the characters. I'd really hoped for more from this book. At least Judd got the banter right.

Booster Gold 18
This book continues to deliver the goods. Booster and Booster made for a potent team and the matter of having saved Michelle by pulling her out of the timestream is about to have its repercussions because there always are repercussions and I'm glad that hasn't been forgotten. Michelle now knows she was supposed to die and how. If ever a creative team knows how to keep readers wanting more, this is the team. Jurgens packs in the emotion without overdoing it, and his cliffhangers are neither melodrama nor stunts. They're simply compelling. And we get Blue Beetle as a back-up feature in an extended version of this book soon. I can't wait!

Brave and bold 22
Aside from Ollie's screwing up, he made up for it, and Hal and the Stranger did their part, and the ending was moving. I really cared about Cora and the resolution was a good one.

Green Lantern 38
Still setting up Blackest Night, but the exploration of Carol's character was much appreciated. Meanwhile, Hal's not himself. heh Anyway, I'm ready for the big event to begin. More than ready.

Supergirl 39
Real emotion in this title. Finally. The new direction has been great and really tying Kara in with the Superman characters and books, as she should be, given she's Kal's cousin. When she tells Lana that she wished her mother had been the one to die instead of her father, I felt that emotion. Well done. It's a helluva admission for a daughter to make, but one that, given the circumstances, rang true. And Lana, in providing support and comfort, finally gives this version of Supergirl a strong supporting cast, or at least, the start of one. Along with Jamal Igle, the regular penciller on the book, Talent Caldwell is also credited for that chore as well as sharing the inking with Jon Sibal, which might explain the wide variation in Kara's face, especially in 3-4 pages near the end with her mouth and eyes looking like an entirely different character, or one being drawn by a different artist in the middle of the story. In one panel, her lips seemed to be twice the thickness as the rest of the panels on that page, and in another panel on the following page, when she's looking at a picture of Superwoman, she looks like she was drawn by someone else entirely. It's rather disconcerting, but if Igle needed help to get the book out on time, I'm okay with it.

Jack of Fables 30-31
Such lovable lunacy with a point in a story where reading for your life is an imperative. Truly, comics don't get better than this.