Love At First Fight!…LOL

Supergirl (Volume 5) #13
Written by Joe Kelly
Art by Ian Churchill and Norm Rapmund

Supergirl goes on a first date with Power Boy this issue. The cover blurb, Love at First Fight, made me laugh out loud it was so lame. But the issue itself wasn’t lame. The villains were lame, at least artisitically, but we do not know much about them or where they came from. They seem to know a lot about Supergirl though. Supergirl screaming out that she loves Kal-El made me smile, it made me like her a little more and made her seem less of bitch with too much teen angst. She stays away from Superma not because she hates him, but because she loves him. If she stays around him, she is afraid her father’s “programming” might kick in and she will kill him. The Power Boy and Supergirl relationship looks like it will go somewhere, which is better than her relationship with Boomerang which is going no where. I know Boomer is going to be jealous though. The only real problem with this issue is I was looking forward to learning Power Boy’s origin and we don’t really get it this issue. Hopefully it will be revealed sometimes soon.

Faked Accents

Batman #660
Written by John Ostrander
Art by Tom Mandrake

Mandrake knows how to draw Batman and how to draw him well. His art was fantastic this issue. The story is getting exciting as well. There is certainly a lot of action this issue and the mystery is pretty good. Johnny Kareoke was an interesting character and I loved how Batman figured out he was faking the accent so fast. Bruce is a smart one. Grotesk isn’t that cool of a villain but I don’t think he really is the story’s main antagonist. The Russian Mob and the Yakuza are both the antagonists of this storyline. I wonder what is so special about this machine and why Wayne Franklin is so pissed off. I must say though that Wayne Franklin is a very confusing name in a Batman comic because Wayne just makes you think Bruce Wayne or Wayne Enterprises or something. I don’t know maybe I was just tired while reading this and easily confused.

Meta-Organ Theft

JSA Classified #19
Written by Scott Beatty
Art by Rags Morales and Michael Bair

This was a pretty clever story. I never woud have though of metahuman organ theft but Beatty apparently did. It is always good to see original story ideas in comics since sometimes I think there are none. Beatty also makes good use of Dr. Midnight’s powers, especially with the arm-wrestling part. Midnight knew exactly how to take the guy down because of his medical expertise. He is a true “doctor” superhero and I think I have a newfound respect for the character now that I have read this issue. Before I thought he was overused like Mr. Terrific but now I say he is underused, he had a lot of potential as a character and I hope Geoff Johns taps this in the main JSA book. I look forward to the next issue and like Dr. Midnight I did not guess that the Ultra-Humanite was behind it all.

How She Had A Kitten

Catwoman (Volume 3) #62
Written by Will Pfeifer
Art by David Lopez and Alvaro Lopez

Catwoman recounts how she ended up with the child of Sam Bradley this issue and I must say it was very heart-warming yet sad tale. I enjoyed it, even though I originally wished that Batman was really the father. I love Selina’s comment when Holly says she thought Batman was the father, “Batman?Please.” Selina can never get back together with Slam now, it would be completely rudiculous and really gross if she did, I mean it is her baby’s grandfather. That is fine though, maybe she can focus on her relationship with a certain Bat-obsessed millionaire. Now, after this, is Holly still going to be Catwoman? I doubt it. Pfeifer has spent barely any time focusing on Holly so far and I doubt he wants to. Selina is just a much better character.

The (Modern) Debut of The Spirit

The Spirit #1
Written by Darwyn Cooke
Art by Cooke

I have absolutely have no familiarity with the Character of The Spirit. I am a complete newbie and I have to say I am a fan of the character after reading this issue. My first introduction to The Spirit was on that History Channel documentary about comics from a few years back. He looked kinda interesting but nothing I would seek out. Now, I wanna read everything the character has ever been in. Cooke writes a wonderful little adventure for the Spirit and unlike most new series, he does not recap the Spirit’s origin, which I don’t mind at all. I suppose he will tell it eventually but it is not important right now. I think this series is supposed to slowly intergrate The Spirit into the DC Universe but I am not sure. I hope it does. The story is a lot of fun. I expected that The Spirit would be a dark and grim character like Batman but it turns out he has a sense of humor and a good one at that. His little comments to Ginger Coffee were very funny. I hope her character will make a return. Cooke manages to reintroduce The Spirit’s Sidekick, Ebony White, without being racist. That is pretty incredible. The villain in this issue is pretty gross, his name is The Pill and I don’t know if he is a new character or not. Great start to what looks like will be a great series, highly reccomended

Amazon Legality

Manhunter #26
Written by Mark Andreyko
Art by Javier Pina and Robin Riggs

I really hope this series makes it after Issue 30. Andreyko clearly has a love for the DCU and it shows in his writing. If Manhunter does end with Issue 30, DC should at least have Andreyko write another series, he is a wonderful writer who I could see on lots of other books. After reading this, I think he should take over as Wonder Woman writer after Jodi Picult’s upcoming run. He knows how to write female heroes. This issue is actually pretty important, Wonder Woman has come to Kate, who she knows is Manhunter, for legal defense against the US government who are charging her for the murder of Maxwell Lord. I loved the moments between Manhunter and Wonder Woman and Manhunter basically being in awe of her. The only weakness is the Dylan character, I hate him. I absolutely hate him. He makes my skin crawl. I really wish he would leave this series but I don’t see that happening since Andreyko created him. Anyways, I encourage everyone to pick up this issue. This series is great and it deserves to last.

 

Aquaman’s First Meeting With King Shark

Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis #46
Written by Kurt Busiek and Karl Kesel
Art by Phil Winslade and Butch Guice

This issue tells the tale of the Classic Aquaman’s first meeting with King Shark. This issue is also a hell of a lot better than the boring last issue. While I like the new Aquaman, this issue really made me miss Orin a lot as the flashback shows how great of an Aquaman Orin was. Maybe he should be king of Atlantis again? (And yes I know Atlantis no longer exists as a nation anymore) The fight between Aquaman (the original one) and King Shark was good and well-written. The mystery is also pretty interesting. I love the girl with the jellyfish-like stinging hair. That was cool. The only problem I can see with this issue was the fact it really doesn’t get us closer to the mystery of the new Aquaman or why Orin is now the Dweller of the Depths. I think Busiek should concentrate on answering those questions instead of writing flashbacks, but that is just my opinion. Definitely a good issue though.

Look Who’s Talking

Superman Confidential #2
Written by Darwyn Cooke
Art and Cover by Tim Sale

This issue continues the look at Superman’s first encounter with kryptonite. I have come to the conclusion that while I would not want Tim Sale on Action Comics or Superman, this is the perfect series for him to do if he had to do Superman. His art style bring that sort of retro touch that he series needs. Cooke’s story, while not filled with action, is emotonally jarring as we see Superman deal with the fact that he is not completely invulnerable when he has to stop a volcanoe and almsot drowns in Lava. For some reason I always figured Superman could not survive in Lava but I guess he can now. Of course, this is only a foreshadowing of thing to come when he comes face to face with Kryptonite. The only thing I did not like about the script is the beginning where, if I am not mistaken, the kryptonite itself has a monolgue. Why is the kryptonite speaking? It is an inanimate object, is it not? That was just weird and award.

Batman Makes Everything Better

Green Arrow (Volume 3) #69
Written by Judd Winnick
Art and Cover by Scott McDaniel and Andy Owens

This was one of the more enjoyable issues of Green Arrow in a while. I guess I am biased considering I love Batman and this issue is guest starring Batman but oh well. Batman makes things better. Unlike this month’s Robin, the surprise guest at the very end of this book was not ruined by a cover announcement. So already this book is better than Robin this month. Green Arrow and Speedy worked really well together this issue and they seemed like a true mentor/sidekick. It is always good to see the mentor/sidekick relationship these days because so often the sidekick or the mentor are solo. I hope Speedy stays around for a long time because she makes the perfect partner to Green Arrow. Green Arrow’s statement of thank you to Batman when Speedy did not even notice he was there was great. A nice little testament to how well Green Arrow knows Batman. So yes, I really enjoyed this issue. I look forward to next month as well.

Reveal the Justice League Already!

Justice League of America #4
Written by Brad Meltzer
Art by Art by Ed Benes and Sandra Hope

Okay this issue was doomed just from the cover, Michael Turner’s cover is horrendous, probably one of the worst covers I have ever seen. J.G Jones’s variant cover is much better and that is why it is displayed here. The inside of this comic book was no better. The plot is barely moved forward from what it was 4 issues ago. This must be the slowest moving comic. Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman are still in the cave! Also, why do they refer to eachother by their names all the time! I mean when they are alone its fine but not when they are in combat. And why does Green Lantern have trouble saying Roy Harper’s codename like its his first day out as a superhero or something. The heroes call eachother by their codenames! I don’t know, I really want to like this series but this issue was a big dissapointment. Reveal the Justice League already!