World’s Finest Astronauts

Superman/Batman #64
Written by Joe Casey
Art by Scott Kolins

This is a prelude to a bigger story that will be coming up in this book and I have to say it got me excited for it. Batman goes into space – in a bat astronaut suit by the way – when a mysterious space ships is found floating. With the help of Superman, he discovers that it is an ancient Kryptonian ship that had been invaded by other aliens. The art is good and fits the tone of the story, some of the dialogue from Superman seemed a little forced but not that terrible. I enjoyed it.

The Grandson of Brainiac

R.E.B.E.L.S. #8
Written by Tony Bedard
Art by Andy Clarke

This was another good issue of this series and it is great to continue having Clarke on the art. I hope he doesn’t leave again any time soon. I like the relationship between Dox and his son. Dox is a jerk sometimes but he does seem to care for his son. I would expect him to have too much time to reduce his son’s intellect but he does it anyways so that his son could have a normal childhood and not end up like his grandpa Brainiac. Wildstar’s powers are really fun and powerful. I am enjoying learning so much about these characters.

Being Introduced To The Web and The Hangman

The Web #1
Written by Angela Robison
Art by Roger Robinson
Co-Feature by John Rozum
Art by Tom Derenick

I was pretty excited to read this. Not because I have any familiarity with the Red Circle characters, but because I really enjoyed the Shield’s first issue and the Web is just an awesome looking character and that cover is beautiful. Now I didn’t read the one-shot and his origin – in terms of why he became the Web is not recapped here – which would have helped but it didn’t necessarily hurt the story which involves the Web searching for the reasons why his brother was murdered. There are a lot of intriguing things about this character – from his costume to his internet presence and rich family. This should be a lot of fun. The Hangman back-up was actually even more interesting then the main feature, I like the idea of the Hangman and I didn’t think I would. I like that he literally becomes the Hangman at night by transforming and he is also visually appealing. Robert Dickering is an interesting character.

Benevolent Space Girls?

Power Girl (Volume 2) #5
Written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray
Art by Amanda Connor

The “Space Girls” are less malevolent then the cover and the previous issues made us think they would be. They just seem to be some partying aliens looking for a good time and don’t want to hurt anyone…but I may be wrong. Terra didn’t show up in this issue and I actually missed her. The dynamic between Karen and Terra is really great and fun. Not that this issue wasn’t fun…it definitely was and I called that the hot guy was an android before the reveal! I like the supporting cast being built in Karen’s company and the subplots within that. It is what makes this book more then just a standard superhero book. Good stuff.

Life On The Outside: Captain Marvel Jr.

It has been a while since I have did an Outsiders Bio so here is a refresher on what this is all about

Major Spoilers is a great blog and comics news site. I especially like their rundown on oh….every single member of the Legion of Super-Heroes ever! It is a lot of fun to read. So, I decided to do the same thing on my blog (I hope they don’t get mad). Instead of the Legionnaires, I want to focus on a superhero team that is even more under appreciated then those from the 31st Century….a team in the 21st Century; a team that that exists on the fringes of the Superhero Community….and yes I am talking about THE OUTSIDERS.

The Outsiders have always been a favorite team of mine. Maybe because I like the underdogs? Maybe because of the characters? Maybe I have no reason. I just know I like them. From Barr to Winick to Dixon, they have always captured my imagination. It seemed fitting to do this now since Tomasi’s run is about to begin and we are getting another overhaul of the team. I can’t promise it will be as witty and well-written as the Hero Histories over on Major Spoilers – in fact I can guarantee that it won’t be – but I will try my best.

Today, I want to focus on another short-lived member of the Outsiders. Sometimes called CM3, Currently going by the name Shazam, but for most of his superheroic career Freddy Freeman was known as Captain Marvel Jr.

Powers

Justice League of America #37
Written by Len Wein
Art by Tom Derenick

This issue concludes Len Wein’s fill-in arc and I must say that it was a sucess. Wein utilized each of the powers of the team members in unique ways and gave them all equal screen time. That is much better then McDuffie or Meltzer ever did on this book. I wonder where this story is going to continue? Under Robinson’s pen? I don’t know because there was definitely a cliffhanger about the Key and a possible murder of Professor Fortune. But anyways, this was a good arc and Wein should be proud of it.

Batwoman’s Alfred

Detective Comics #857
Written by Greg Rucka
Art by J.H. Williams II
Co-Feature by Rucka
Art by Cully Hamner

Damn is this a beautiful book. I mean people are not joking when they talk about how great Williams’s art is. It’s breathtaking and stylish. And story-wise things got interesting this time around as we discover that Alice is Kate’s sister? Interesting and I am interesting in learning how that happened. One thing that I have been thinking about is the idea that Batwoman is helped by her father – I almost wish that she was self-made like Bruce was – but now that I think about it I guess Bruce always had Alfred – so the father thing works. The Question back-up was rather forgettable I must say.

Sometimes Lois Is Just As Heroic As The Super Heroes

Supergirl (Volume 5) #45
Written by Sterling Gates and Greg Rucka
Art by Jamal Igle

This is part 2 of the Hunt for Reactron crossover that began here. This was a tremendous issue that furthered the plot a lot. I like how Thara knew that Lana is sick (although Kara is kind’ve being a jerk to to Thara) and Lois acting like the hero. I hope she exposes her father and the whole operation when this is over. I love when Lois is portrayed as a smart and competent (but good-natured) reporter.

The Return of Speedy

Green Arrow & Black Canary #24
Written by Andrew Kreisberg
Art by Mike Norton

Meh I really don’t feel like much happened in this issue. But at least we get the return of Speedy! It seemed weird that she was just written out of the book. Maybe Kreisberg felt he needed room to introduce Cupid? I don’t know but she’s back and sporting a black costume. This could be a coloring error because there is no mention of the change by Black Canary when she sees her. Weird. I hope it’s explained soon. Oh and I hate the art in the back-up.

Voices

Brave and the Bold #27
Written by J. Michael Straczinski
Art by Jesus Saiz

And with this issue, JMS’s run on Brave and the Bold finally begins. And I must say that thus was a pretty good story. I didn’t really know what to expect because I never read a Dial H For Hero story before but I actually enjoyed how it all played out with the homeless criminal getting the dial and redeeming himself. The art was good too. The only problem I had was the voices of the Joker and Batman were a bit off. They just didn’t sound like themselves. Since when does Batman give long speeches to kids like he did to Robby? And the Joker…well he didn’t have much of a sense of humor. I will give JMS a break because he is just starting in the DC Universe and this was a good story, but I hope he get their voices correct next time around.

I Miss My Dark Knight Damsel

Batgirl (Volume 3) #2
Written by Bryan Q. Miller
Art by Lee Garbett

You know…I really can’t wait for Stephanie to get her new costume, because I just can’t help but miss Cassandra when I see Steph in that costume. How cool would it have been if this series was about Cassandra working with Barbara out of the currently abandoned batcave! Wtf Didio! I miss my Dark Knight Damsel, Stephanie Brown just isn’t her. Anyways, this was an okay issue and unlike other people, I see no problem with the way Barbara is acting. Steph has screwed up in the past and Babs doesn’t want to see that happen again.

Best Use Of Clayface Ever

Outsiders (Volume 4) #22
Written by Peter Tomasi
Art by Fernando Pasarin

Pasarin’s art is much better then Garbett’s for this book. And I have to say I am enjoying this rounding up the Gotham villains arc so far. It is much simpler then the last arc and less confusing. Not to mention that this issue contained the best use of Clayface I have EVER read in a comic. Clayface is usually used as a a throw away character disguised as someone else or a background character, but this issue shows how dangerous and powerful he can be. Especially when he shows up and absorbs a whole family into his body so they can mine him! Kudos to Tomasi for making great use of a character and showing me his worth.

You Stupid Babootch

Action Comics #881
Written by Greg Rucka and Sterling Gates
Art by Pere Perez
Co-Feature by Rucka and James Robinson
Art by Cafu

This was the first part of the Hunt for Reactron storyline. This was a good issue that focuses on Supergirl, Chris, and Thara now as fugitives who the world blames for the death of Mon-El. I like how there is so much tension between Kara and Thara over her father’s death – and I really liked the art. I hope DC keeps Perez on this book because the art has been less then stellar before he came on. There were a lot of great moments such as Supergirl saying she has fortresses all over the world and she stole the idea from Batman. And I am actually becoming more interested in the mythology behind Nightwing and Flamebird. Oh and the best line of the issue has to be Thara calling Supergirl a “Stupid Babootch”. What a great fictional sware word for Krypton! The Captain Atom back-up didn’t really further the plot enough for me to get too excited about it.

Introducing The Broker

Batman: Streets of Gotham #4
Written by Paul Dini
Art by Dustin Nguyen
Co-Feature by Marc Andreyko
Art by Jeremy Haun

This has to be the best issue of this series to date. Dini goes back to what he does best, exploring Gotham’s villains and adding interesting new ones to the roster. In this issue, he introduces The Broker, the real estate guy who sells all the abandoned warehouses and amusement parks to the bad guys of Gotham. That’s just genius! I can’t believe no one has thought of that before. I also loved how Dini explains why there are so many abandoned amusement parks by going over the history of Gotham. I love when writers flesh out DC’s fictional locales. The Manhunter back-up was pretty good as well, Kate makes the statement to the press that she will bring down Two-Face no matter what and I am sure that will get her in a lot of trouble. She also teams up with Huntress.

Oh Hamburgers!

Booster Gold (Volume 2) #24
Written by Dan Jurgems
Art by Jurgens
Co-Feature by Matthew Sturges
Art by Mike Norton

In the main Boosterific story, it was really cool to see Kyle get his GL ring (for the first time in this alternate timeline) and like always, I really enjoyed this issue. Although I don’t know how I feel about Booster being the one who dressed up like Deathstroke, although I like how they made it so at least Deathstroke believes he was there. I have no idea what is coming next in this series but I am enjoying the ride. The Blue Beetle co-feature had the scarab yell “Oh Hamburgers” like Butters from South Park. And that means it gets an A+ in my book!

Secret Six 12 and 13

Secret Six (Volume 3) #12
Written by Gail Simone
Art by Nicola Scott

I like how Wonder Woman can take Deadshot down by swatting her fingers but Jeanette punches her and Diana actually bleeds. This shows how powerful Jeanette is. Jeanette is revealed to be a banshee in this issue and even looks like the Silver Banshee but I have no idea how people become banshees in the DC Universe. I suppose I will look that up. This was another great issue.

Secret Six (Volume 3) #13
Written by Gail Simone
Art by Nicola Scott

All of the Secret Six are so messed up it’s great. Ragdoll desperately wants to look good in Wonder Woman’s boots and tiara, Bane thinks prison would be the perfect way to live, Scandal being trained in horrific violence by her own father…I love it! Oh and they are all very willing to kill each other. This was a violent issue so once again I have to say this series is not for the squemish, but it sure is great!

Back To Mentoring

Titans (Volume 2) #17
Written by Pat McCullum
Art by Angel Unzueta

I like how these done-in-one issues are really placing the Titans in their positions for the future. Last issue hinted on the idea that Starfire would be joining the Justice League – here it looks like Beast Boy decides to mentor the Teen Titans once again. At least it looks like Red Devil didn’t die for no reason, it looks like his death is the reason for the mentors to come back. I really like the current line-up of the Teen Titans, and I hope it doesn’t change too much, but I am excited to see Beast Boy mentor them again, which is something that I didn’t think I would be. Although I am sick of see writers portray Wonder Girl as an incompetent leader. This was a good issue. The only problem I found was what the hell did Unzueta draw Raven and Donna wearing! Women do not wear clothes like that if they are not in porn!