Japanese Mythology Versus The JSA

Justice Society of America #28
Written by Jerry Ordway
Art by Ordway

I liked this part much better then the first part of this little fill-in arc. Maybe cause I find Japanese Mythology quite interesting and Ordway used it quite nicely in this. Atom Smasher and Stargirl’s relationship is a little strange. How old is he supposed to be? I also liked that Ordway avoided saying that the bomb being dropped was inevitable and couldn’t be avoided and all the usual right-wing propaganda about Hiroshima. We did a shitty thing people, let’s admit that and move on. But anyways, this was an enjoyable issue but I am looking forward to seeing how everything goes when the new creative team takes over next issue.

Robinson Understands His Playground

Superman #689
Written by James Robinson
Art by Renato Guedes

Mon-El spends this issue traveling the globe and meeting up with heroes and villains from all different countries. Each of these tales could have had their own issue or two but something about him summarizing it made everything a lot more exciting and less decompressed in the way most comics are. Robinson really takes advantage of writing in the DC Universe in a way that most writers don’t. That is what makes him one of the best writers that DC has right now. He utilizes his playground to the max. It was a lot of fun to see the different heroes internationally (some old and some new) and to cap it off, it looks like Steel is in trouble. Sam Lane is such a douchebag for wanting to kill Steel.

Rather Forgettable

Green Lantern (Volume 4) #42
Written by Geoff Johns
Art by Phillip Tan and Eddy Barrows

I have to say this was kind of a disappointing conclusion. I mean the art was a bit better probably because of Barrows, but I felt it concluded rather quickly, probably in order to get to Blackest Night faster. The Douche Hal Jordan grows his hands back even! I just think the entire issue was rather forgettable. I sure hope Larfreeze won’t hurt the Blue Lanterns, I love them!

McDuffie’s Actual Last Issue

Justice League of America #34
Written by Dwayne McDuffie
Art by Ardian Sayaf and Eddy Barrows

Okay for some reason DC’s solicitations were wrong on their website and this is McDuffie’s last issue on this book. Well at least he gets to finish his story arc. I actually liked this conclusion. Sure the art is still not great for a book like Justice League, but it was competent. I enjoyed the explanation for how the Milestone Universe and DC Universe merged. I think it was really the easiest way to explain it. Although I was under the impression they were not going to explain it, I am glad they did (Although it doesn’t make sense that Superman would be wearing his Superman outfit on New Krypton). I hope when the new creative team takes over they won’t get rid of Firestorm, I think it is great to see him on this team and I am hoping Icon will still be joining even though McDuffie is not on the book anymore.

This Is Going to Be A Lot of Fun!

Gotham City Sirens #1
Written by Paul Dini
Art by Guillem March

Okay fuck all the haters on this series, because it was AMAZING! This first issue really hit it out of the park for me. Three of my favorite Bat-villains working together is good enough, but the fact that they will be working out of an abandoned animal shelter brought to them by some Criminal Broker aptly named the Broker makes it even better! This is going to be a fun book, and will hopefully remind me of the Batman: The Animated Series days. Seriously, the Bat villains are the most underused characters in terms of their popularity and I can’t wait to see them spotlighted here. If only we could have seen Harley in costume! Oh and here is my guess, Catwoman is going to tell Ivy she doesn’t know who Batman is because she doesn’t actually know who the NEW Batman is.

What A Great Storyline

Wonder Woman (Volume 3) #33
Written by Gail Simone
Art by Aaron Lopresti

The Rise of the Olypian comes to an end in this issue when Achilles takes over leadership of the Amazons and Wonder Woman rejects Zeus and says goodbye to her mother. I really enjoyed it and it was the perfect ending in that it was a true ending but left it open ended for Genocide’s eventual return. I think Simone has created a great new villain for Diana. I also like that Diana is not as loyal to the Gods as her mother is, probably because since she has lived so long in America she has taken on American ideals herself about blind loyalty. I am not sure where Simone will take Diana next, but I can’t way to see.

Kate Kane Is No Cookie Cutter Character

Detective Comics #854
Written by Greg Rucka
Art by J.H. Williams III
Co-Feature by Rucka
Art by Cully Hamner

Wow I expected this to be good, but man was this good! Batwoman is a character we have been waiting for an explanation behind for three years, and while we don’t get her origin story here, I have to say I am a fan already. She doesn’t exactly fit the Bat-family mold. Her father knows that she is Batwoman (Could her stepmother be the original Batwoman?!) She has a military background, apparently has no problem with guns, and she is as pale as can be. And that is what I like about her! She is not a cookie-cutter character or a Barbara Gordon stand-in anymore. A lot of this has to do with Rucka, but Williams as well. His art is breathtaking (and weird) and you can’t help but marvel at the detail he puts into it. Everything from the panels to the stuff in Kate’s room matters. And the villain, Alice, is surprisingly freaky. As for the Question back-up, it was okay. I have never been a fan of Hamner’s art but I like some of the changes he made to Renee. As a gay man, I have to say that it is AWESOME that DC is having two Lesbian characters headline Detective Comics, but it is even more AWESOME that their debut is on the fortieth anniversary of the Stonewall riots. We have come a long way since 1969.

Miller Gets The Characters, Bennett Does Not

Teen Titans (Volume 3) #72
Written by Bryan Q. Miller
Art by Joe Bennett
Co-Feature by Sean McKeever
Art by Yildiray Cinar

 

Joe Bennett is not doing his best here at all. I mean Superboy and Wonder Girl never wore those outfits when they were together in that flashback and girls don’t wear belly shirts like that when they go out. I mean Miss Martian’s shirt was shorter every time he drew it. It was ridiculous. I am far from a prude, I don’t care that the characters are being sexualized, I care that they are realistic. And being 21 and so far off from my teen years, I can tell you that teenage girls don’t wear shirts like that. I have to say this though, Bennett does draw some amusing facial expressions in this issue. The story by fill-in writer Miller was actually pretty good. Miller definitely captures each Titan’s personality rather well and I liked the night on the town story’s Juxtaposition with Wonder Girl’s fight at Alcatraz. I just hope that funeral scene at the beginning doesn’t really mean one of these characters is going to die, cause we really DON’T need any more of that shit in this book. The Ravager back up was interesting and McKeever is always good with her character, but it hasn’t hooked me just yet.

Outsiders 18 and 19

Outsiders (Volume 4) #18
Written by Peter Tomasi
Art by Lee Garbett

Wow did Alfred really just punch Deathstroke in the face! That is one butler with balls let me tell you! This was a decent issue. For some reason Slade wants to kill the immortals. I suppose we will find out why soon. Or am I just forgetting and they explained it in the last issue? The Outsiders show up just in time to save Alfred luckily.

Outsiders (Volume 4) #19
Written by Peter Tomasi
Art by Fernando Pasarin and Jeremy Haun

Now this was more like it. This issue really kicked things into gear. There was action, fighting, and character moments. Not to mention I like Pasarin’s art much better then Garbett’s. The Creeper sneaking up on the guys on the ship was a great moment (and realy his first great moment since joining the team), as was Black Lightning calling out Geo-Force on his poor leadership skills. It looks like Slade is corrupting another young girl. I like that idea. It seems to be a habit of his. The slicing in half of the one guy was pretty gross. I am not sure where any of this is going but I am enjoying the ride.

Continuity Fuck-Up

Power Girl (Volume 2) #2
Written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray
Art by Amanda Connor

Wow way to go Palmiotti and Gray, what are you Jeph Loeb?! Why are you ignoring continuity all together. Does this book not have an editor?! Seriously Ultra-Humanite has a long history in the DC Universe since the Golden Age! This origin they constructed completely undoes that. And everyone knows he originally was in the body of a woman and didn’t get the ape body till later. I guess we will have to wait for Geoff Johns to fix this major mistake. What the hell?! Gosh I hate continuity fuck-ups. There is no reason for, it is not that hard to tell a story in continuity and keep things straight people. Besides this, this wasn’t that good of an issue anyways. It was still over-written like last issue.

Costume Change We Can Believe In

Brave and the Bold #24
Written by Matt Wayne
Art by Howard Porter

Eh this was a generic hero team up and fight the villain, nothing really to write about. This is my first exposure to Dakota and I can’t say that I find it all that interesting. I did like how Static looks up to Black Lightning all of a sudden at the end of this issue. I didn’t know Black Lightning didn’t have a secret identity though. Is this a mistake or is his identity public knowledge? Apparently, Static’s isn’t. There were a few one-liners I enjoyed (Like “Costume change we can believe in”) as well but otherwise this was rather unremarkable.

That’s All I Can Say About It

Green Arrow & Black Canary #21
Written by Andrew Kreisberg
Art by Mike Norton

This was good but didn’t really contain a lot of story. The man behind Star City losing sound is of course the new villain Discord and it was interesting to see some of Dinah’s past as it is not something that we see very often. We got a little Green Arrow teaming up with Cupid, who is delightfully nuts. But this still feels very decompressed. Nothing is really accomplished within this issue. I don’t know how Dinah will survive the explosion at the end of this issue but I am sure she will of course. This issue was just okay, and that’s all I can say about it.

Supergirl 40 – 42

Supergirl (Volume 5) #40
Written by Sterling Gates
Art by Jamal Igle

So Lucy Lane is Superwoman! How? I do not know. Why? I do not know. Do I still wish she was Linda Danvers? No because Linda wasn’t a killer. This issue leaves me with more questions then answers but it was cool seeing Kara use her Batman and Amazon training.

Supergirl (Volume 5) #41
Written by Sterling Gates
Art by Fernando Dagnino

Oh my Rao! That was the most disturbing ending of an issue I have read in a while. Supergirl pulls off Lucy’s disc thingies in a costume and Lucy cries as she expands and then freaking blows up disgustingly. What the hell? We still don’t have any answers as to why or how Lucy was Superwoman, but she is seemingly dead now.

Supergirl (Volume 5) #42
Written by Sterling Gates
Art by Jamal Igle

So I can’t really say that I am happy with this issue. We did not get any pay off! Sure, we know Lucy was Superwoman but not much more then that. This entire issue just featured Lois getting upset over the possibility of Lucy’s death and General Lane being a douchebag as usual. Really, I want answers and I am getting impatient.

Dini Makes Firefly Fly

Batman: Streets of Gotham #1
Written by Paul Dini
Art by Dustin Nguyen
Co-Feature by Marc Andreyko
Art by Georges Jeanty

The Former Detective Comics creative team of Dini and Nguyen begin their run with this new series and I have to say one again another Batman book was really good this month. This series reminds me of Gotham Knights, in the way it focused on the Bat’s supporting cast, and that is something I have seriously missed since that book got cancelled. Nguyen draws Damian strangely like Tim at first but later in the book he seems to have gotten a handle on the character. I love how Harley is still kinda wearing her costume even when she is not wearing her costume. Check out he last page of the main feature, that is some gorgeous art by Nguyen. Dini’s script is fantastic as if there is anyone who can really write good Gotham villains, it’s Dini and he makes firefly particularly scary in this. In a way Firefly has never been. The Manhunter Co-Feature also was really exciting. I like how both the art and the writing really made me feel that Kate belongs in Gotham. It’s like Manhunter has always been a Gothamite. I think it was a great way to start her new feature.

No Longer A Starfish?

R.E.B.E.L.S. #5
Written by Tony Bedard
Art by Claude St. Aubin

 

So I am confused…how is that guy Starro? Is Starro being revealed as not being a giant starfish in his true form after all? If that is the case, I don’t know how I feel about it…I mean we need a big starfish baddie! This was a good issue and much more action-packed if you like that sort of thing. What is with that cover though, I don’t like it. It looks like an interior panel, not a cover. I do like the idea of a Durlan masquerading as a little girl though. I am also really starting to like the character of Wildstar.

Exciting and Fun

Green Lantern Corps (Volume 2) #37
Written by Peter Tomasi
Art by Patrick Gleason

Ya after last issue focused more on Sodom Yat instead of the great of Green Lanterns – Kyle Rayner – I had happy to say this issue refocused back on Oa and the sciencell riot. This was a kick ass battle and I have to give my thanks to Gleason who knows how to draw an awesome Lantern battle. The part where the rookies get killed by the villains was particularly crazy. I am getting excited for Blackest Night and Scar is one bad ass Guardian in this when she attacks that one Sinestro Corps women. I am sure Sodom is not actually dead and I was surprised at how quickly the Daxamites gained power from the yellow sun. There was a lot going on in this issue but that’s nota bad thing – it was all exciting and fun.

Batman Confidential 29 and 30

Batman Confidential #29
Written by Andrew Kreisberg
Art by Scott McDaniel

I have to say that I like Kreisberg’s first issue here better then his pervious arc on this book. Even though this follows up on that arc, you don’t need to read that arc in order to enjoy this. McDaniel’s art didn’t even bother me that much. I noticed that he may draw people strange, but I have no problem with the way he draws Gotham. The Joker had some good lines this issue as well. Renee Montoya and the Ventriloquist are retconned to first appearing in Gotham much earlier then they did originally but I don’t really mind that.

Batman Confidential #30
Written by Andrew Kreisberg
Art by Scott McDaniel

I read a review of this that said that having Babs so young while Batman is active breaks canon. I don’t think so at all. I have no problem with Batman being in his fifties currently. Fifties are not that old anymore. Not to mention, it only breaks DC’s rudiculous ten year timeline not the perfect timeline created by this site. Anyways I enjoyed seeing a young Barbara Gordon, it is something I would expect more of in a series like this. This wasn’t the best issue ever but it was decent. It was certainly better then Kreisberg’s previous arc in this book.