Green Lantern 40 and 41

Green Lantern (Volume 4) #40
Written by Geoff Johns
Art by Phillip Tan and Rafael Albuquerque

Tan’s artwork isn’t really doing it for me. I feel liek he doesn’t really work with Green Lantern. I am not sure though. It’s not horrible, it’s just too dark or something for a story about lights. Agent Orange is interesting character so far, I am looking forward to seeing where they are going with him. Oh and I love the idea of a cleaner slug!

 

Green Lantern (Volume 4) #41
Written by Geoff Johns
Art by Phillip Tan and Eddy Barrows

Okay the whole thing about the Guardians burying their secrets and the box with Parallax in it was interesting, otherwise I feel like this whole storyline has been a let down with bad art and too much Hal Jordan. I hope next issue is better.

Bringing Metropolis to Life

Superman #688
Written by James Robinson
Art by Renato Guedes

Wow this issue was another incredible one. Robinson writes Superman so much better with Superman in it. I mean he is really bringing Metropolis to life. I like how General Sam Lane is monitoring all the milestone and red circle heroes. Think there is a reason behind that? I dunno. Are they just trying to avoid using Doctor Mid-Nite because Doctor Light is used once again in a Superman book to examine someone; maybe she lives in Metropolis now? I don’t know but I am not complaining. Mon-El’s ticking clock is an interesting development that I think really adds to the story and makes the character a whole lot more interesting. Good stuff here.

Nothing Special

Justice Society of America #27
Written by Jerry Ordway
Art by Ordway

You know you would think after writing this title with Johns in the last arc Ordway would know to draw Judomaster as an Asian women, you can blame her hair on the colorist but she definitely did not have Asian features here. I am not sure who the threat is that they are facing. The idea of spirits that hate America is kind of lame but it might work. We shall see what the next issue brings. Otherwise, this was an okay fill in issue. Nothing special.

Sad Way To Go

Justice League of America #33
Written by Dwayne McDuffie
Art by Rags Morales

Um…what? I am really not sure what this was about. This whole storyline has been convoluted and confusing even without Ed Benes’s art. This isn’t even a conclusion and I am pretty sure this is McDuffie’s last issue. A lot could be said about DC’s mishandling of McDuffie on this title but really…even if you take into account the editorial interference the guy hasn’t written a very good story for this team. Ever. That may not be his fault. I did like last issue but this, this had too many characters and too many plot points I just did not enjoy it. What a sad way for McDuffie to leave this title.

McKeever Is Underrated

Teen Titans (Volume 3)#71
Written by Sean McKeever
Art by Yildiray Cinar

Wow! After that entirely horrible trash of a cross over, Sean McKeever’s final issue on this series as main writer was actually really damn good! I mean this had action but also had the emotional Titans are family stuff that I loved about the Johns and Wolfman run. I didn’t care either way about the upcomign Ravager Cofeature before this issue, but now I can’t wait to read it! Ravager basically ruins her reputation with the team just so she can be sure that Bombshell will not betray them again. She sees the Teen Titans as her true family. That is good stuff and really shows how far she has come. If McKeever will be remembered for anything for his run it will be for moments like that and the work he did with Ravager and Red Devil, he really was great at writing those two characters and adding more depth to them. Kid Eternity has such a cool power – I was confused at first as to why Pantha was there and then I realized she must have been summoned by Kid Eternity!  McKeever also could have made Wonder Girl come off as a jerk here but he really didn’t – even after everything Cassie knew that Rose should be given another chance. Sean McKeever’s run I think will be remembered fondly – there were some blips (the first arc, Deathtrap, and the death of Marvin come to mine) but all in all he really made me care about these characters. That’s all that matters. Oh and by the way, I loved the art on this book too.

Fictional Reference Books

R.E.B.E.L.S. #4
Written by Tony Bedard
Art by Claude St. Aubin

You know I was getting a big Star Trek vibe from this issue. Maybe because I just saw the new movie? I don’t know. This was another fun issue of this book. Strata and Bounder officially join the new R.E.B.E.L.S. team and Starro is attacking the planet of Maltus. Is Starro behind the takeover of L.E.G.I.O.N.? I am not sure. Was that revealed already? I don’t remember. I am loving the fake reference books Bedard is citing and all that stuff from “Encyclopedia Galactica”. It is really cool and helps the story a lot instead of hindering it. No problems here.

Worst Titans Storyline Ever?

Vigilante (Volume 3) #6
Written by Marv Wolfman
Art by Tom Lyle

This is the conclusion of the Deathrap Titans crossover that began here, and continued here, here, here, and here. Wow, this entire story arc plus its preludes could have been done in one issue. We could have had a fight with Jericho and then have Vigilante tear out his eyeballs in the end but no DC dragged this out for months, this has got to be one of the worst storylines if not the worst storyline the Titans have ever had. I can’t believe Wolfman took part in all this. No wonder McKeever quit because of creative differences after this. Anyways, we get some clue to Vigilante’s identity in that he has a jerk father-in-law somehow and Jericho is left with his eyes cut out of his head going insane so that was cool otherwise what a mess.

End This Already

Titans (Volume 2) #13
Written by Sean McKeever
Art by Angel Unzueta

This is part 4 of the Deathtrap crossover that began here, and continued here, and here.Okay why the hell are the Titans letting Red Devil tag along with no powers. That’s just stupid. He should at least bring his original fighting suit or something. That is the least of this book’s problems though. This storyline is real mess with seemingly the same thing happening issue after issue. I feel like I have been reading stories of Jericho threatening the Titans for months. End this already. What a waste of paper and ink.

Out of Focus

Green Lantern Corps (Volume 2) #36
Written by Peter Tomasi
Art by Patrick Gleason

I am a little confused. Maybe I read this too quickly but how was dropping his body shields supposed to help matters in the fight against Mongul? I don’t know. I was disappointed with this issue and its focus on Sodom Yat instead of Kyle Rayner the greatest of Green Lanterns. We only briefly see the fight going on at the sciencells before we go back to Daxam which frankly is the least interesting plotline in this series right now. I do have to say I enjoyed the parts about Sinestro and Soranik’s relationship as father/daughter. I like how it seems that Sinestro genuinely cares for her in his own way. I think the idea of their relationship is growing me. Otherwise, I would have preferred some more Kyle focus.

She’ll Still Kick Ass Without It

Green Arrow & Black Canary #20
Written by Andrew Kreisberg
Art by Mike Norton

I enjoyed this issue but there were some things that bothered me. For one, why are Ollie and Dinah acting so damn violent?!They are heroes, they should not be kicking and throwing things in a freaking office. For another thing, why does Dinah act like her mom is still alive or at least doesn’t mention that she is dead. And is Kreisberg hinting at that there is secret reason as to why Dinah has the sonic scream? Because that would be a lame unneeded retcon.  Almost as Lame and uneeded as retconning in the murder of the parents of Barry Allen (Oh wait DC did that already!). I hope that is not what Kreisberg is going for. I like the new villains; Discord and Cupid that Kreisberg has created. The idea that everyone in Star City has gone deaf is pretty awesome and makes Dinah’s Canary Cry particularly ineffective but Dinah is an excellent martial artist, one of the best in the wold in fact, she doesn’t need it. Oh and look for a cameo from the Shield

Mashed Potatoes

Superman/Batman #60
Written by Michael Green and Mike Johnson
Art by Francis Manapul

Hahaha I really enjoyed this issue. You know when Loeb was on this book I got annoyed when it was set in an alternate reality because well, it seemed like that is all Loeb ever wanted to write in! But here I don’t mind, this was a lot of fun. Batman and Superman find themselves in the Mash-Up world of Gothamopolis defended by the Justice Titans (There team is made up of characters who are combinations of Justice League and Titans characters ie Hal Grayson aka Night Lantern) and the big bad villain is Lex Joker. Not only is the story fun but the book is beautiful to look at. Manapul was great on Legion but he is even better here. If this is the quality of the work we are going to get on Adventure Comics then we are in for a real treat! Hats off to the colorist as well.

Crazy Goat Man

Brave and the Bold #23
Written by Dan Jurgens
Art by Jurgens

Hahaha a kid actually calls Magog Goat Man in this issue! Awesome! Magog drawn by Dan Jurgens is the first time that I actually have liked the look of the character. That shows how great of an artist Jurgens really is. Yet DC let’s Ed Benes draw Justice League of America. The world is fucked up. My favorite moment of this issue was Booster’s pure shock at seeing Magog tear the guy’s arm off. You tore off his arm! Are you a maniac! I love how Booster Gold, a character who once was known for selling out and only caring about himself, is being portrayed as the true hero compared to Magog. This was much better then anything Johns wrote about Magog in JSA. Jurgens is a fantastic writer and artist and I never really appreciated his talent enough before reading this issue.

Celebrating Ten Years of Batgirl

Yes it has been a decade since the one true Dark Knight Damsel first made her comics debut. Barbara Gordon may have been the first to go by the name Batgirl (if you don’t count Bat-hyphen-girl Betty Kane) but it is Cassandra Cain who in the last decade has shown that she is the Dark Knight Damsel.

She is one of the most underappreciated (By creators, not fans) characters in comics today. Cassandra should be a member of the Bat Family on par with Dick, Tim, and Babs but superstar creators like Grant Morrison and Jeph Loeb have consistently neglected her.

A new Batgirl series is debuting in August and if it is not Cassandra Cain under the mask, I want to show how stupid that is on DC’s part by showcasing her to the maximum here.

Cassandra made her debut in May 1999 in Batman #567. So from here on out I will be doing posts spotlighting her comic appearances and her awesomeness as a hero and a character. Starting with her debut issue:

Batman #567 was published about a year before I got into comics (and subsequently got into Batgirl) so this is the first time that I have read this issue. It is written by Kelly Puckett with art by Damion Scott.

Despite the cover, Cassandra does not appear in her Batgirl costume; instead Helena Bertinelli (The Huntress) is featured at the beginning of the issue in the Batgirl costume before being stripped of the mantle by Batman. The Huntress took on the Batgirl identity briefly during the No Man’s Land Story (You know the one where Gotham is a No Man’s Land after the cataclysmic earthquake) but without permission of the Bat family. It is just a sight for sore eyes to see Batman in his nineties all black with the yellow bat logo costume. That was and always will be my favorite costume for the Caped Crusader.

Anyways, we then flash to Oracle who is worried about one of her field agents, who hasn’t returned from a mission. Apparently Babs sent this field agent into a potentially dangerous Courier situation. Can you guess who that agent is?

That’s Cassandra’s first appearance right there ladies and gentleman. I love this scene because it shows just how Batman-like Cassandra is. She has this sneaky creepy way of moving around but in the end has good intentions. (I mean come on she just wanted to give Babs an apple)

We learn Cassandra’s weakness on the next page as Barbara hold up a flash card with the word “Stop” on it and Cassandra tries to say it. She doesn’t understand language (and soon we will learn doesn’t speak any language at all).

Commissioner Gordon shows up and interrupts the lesson so Cassandra goes for a little walk outside only to see someone that she instantly recognizes – David Cain, her father.

Know he is up to no good, Cassandra keeps an eye on him. Apparently David Cain’s mission is to kill Gordon but things don’t go as planned.

Cassandra may not understand language just yet but she is still a smart cookie; she knows that David Cain would never shoot her. Or could it be that she is such an extraordinary heroine that she is willing to die to save Gordon’s life? I’ll leave that for you to decide.

Scott is a good artist that I haven’t seen much of lately. Does he work for Marvel now? I don’t know.

Cut to a few pages later and Gordon is interrogating Cassandra about who tried to shoot him. Cassandra draws the Mark of Cain for him and then points to herself. It is Oracle who first figures out that David Cain is Cassandra’s father.

Gordon orders that Cassandra be locked in a room while he goes after Cain just in case she tries to become a human shield again (Ya right like you could ever lock Cassandra Cain in a room) but she escapes before they can do so and runs into her dear old daddy.

Cassandra and David fight (this is the first time we see her incredible fighting skills in action) and Cassandra flashes back to a particularly troubling moment from her childhood.

I love how Cain raised her to be the ultimate killer yet he still dressed her in a pink dress and pigtails! One can see Cassandra’s face just how disturbed the young girl is at what she has done. This is a girl who does NOT enjoy killing people (Didio would later forget this when he ordered turning her into a killer after Infinite Crisis and pissed off every single one of her fans – and yes I am sure it was his dumbass idea). All of the memories and fighting with her father leads Cassandra to scream out her very first word!

I love the throwback to beginning of the issue where Babs was trying to teach her this very word. It shows how Cassandra is overcoming her training and upbringing as a living weapon and realizing she is a human being – something that she always has been; a human being who wants to stop men like her father; a perfect future member of the Bat Family.

Cassandra jumps out the window taking her father with her; at the same time we are shown panels of her as a little girl sucker punching her father like the bad ass that she is and runs away.

The issue ends with a “to be continued” as they are both falling out the window. Wow! I have to say Puckett really blew me away with this issue. He managed to dive deep into this character in just one issue and by the end of reading this you really get a feel for her. She is a complex character; both a bad ass fighting machine and a girl with a heart of gold who just wants her father’s evil ways to STOP.

I wonder if readers knew she would be Batgirl? There was certainly internet at the time so there must have been speculation. Anybody know or remember?

Stay tuned for next time when we will cover Detective Comics #734; the second part of this story.

Sight For Sore Eyes

Justice League of America #32
Written by Dwayne McDuffie
Art by Rags Morales

After Ed Benes’s shitty art it’s a sight for sore eyes to see Rags Morales draw the League. I don’t have much to say about this issue. It was good, and I like the current team make up. Despite what people think, the Justice League can work without the trinity and these are a powerful group of characters. Firestorm gets some much needed screen time in this issue and some moments that showed both his comedic side and how much he kicks ass. Starbreaker is a formidable JLA villain and I am interested in seeing where this is going.

Tinder The Bard And Other Fun Names

The Warlord (Volume 4) #2
Written by Mike Grell
Art by Joe Prado

For someone knew to Skartaris like myself, this issue really helped a lot. Grell knows how to make a comic accessible. The entire history of the Warlord (I assume) is retold in just a few pages by a the Bard, Tinder, in this issue. We don’t see the newcomers from Earth again in this issue but I assume we will soon.  Prado is a fabulous artist. DC should use him on some high profile books. I really like his stuff here. I must say if you are a fan of fantasy even a little bit, this is a book you should be picking up. I am really getting into Skartaris in just two issues! The only complaint I had is I wish more happened this issue but that’s they are limited by the number of pages.

The Mystery of the Chick With The Face Tattoo

Action Comics #877
Written by Greg Rucka
Art by Sidney Teles

I have to say that this is the best issue Rucka has given us thus far. It was really action-packed and filled with a lot more story then the previous two issues have been. The idea that somehow Chris has been infected with Brainiac tech that has effected his ageing is a decent explanation although not really that great but this is comics so I am not complaining. I don’t know who the woman with the tatoo on her face is that is working for General Lane. I wonder what her deal is. She can’t be Kryptonian right? I wonder why Barrows has left this book so soon? Was DC not happy with his art? Anyways, Rucka introduces a lot of interesting threads in this issue and I can’t wait to see when Lois finds out what her father is up to. Good stuff.

The Boy/Girl Wonder

Secret Six (Volume 3) #9
Written by Gail Simone
Art by Nicola Scott

This was one fantastic issue. I have to say this was probably my favorite issue of this series yet – and that is saying a lot! Catman, Bane, and Ragdoll head to Gotham to stop some kidnappings because apparently Bane doesn’t like kidnappings. The whole time Bane and Catman talk about taking on the mantle of the Bat while Ragdoll dresses like Robin and declares himself the Boy/Girl Wonder. Hilarious. Scott’s art is just amazing and perfectly suited for this book – or well – any book! She is just a fabulous artist, probably the best artist DC has right now (Yet Ed Benes continues to get work) We even get an appearence from Nightwing who is acting rather Batman-like. Is that foreshadowing of things to come? Everyone should buy this issue.