The Brain Emperor

The Shield #3
Written by Eric Trautmann
Art by Marco Rudy
Co-Feature by Brandon Jerwa
Art by Greg Scott

The Shield’s first storyline comes to a close and it perfectly shows why already he is a better character then Magog in the last page alone. He is a hero – and Magog is a douche with horns. When I found out that the creepy tentacle-headed guy was called the Brain Emperor I looked it up and sure enough he was a villain from The Shield’s days at Archie Comics – I like that they are not only reintroducing the heroes but the villains and everything that comes with it. The Inferno back-up is decent, still not a fan of the art though.

More Ugly Art

Green Arrow & Black Canary #26
Written by Andrew Kreisberg
Art by Mike Norton and Renato Guedes

Not going to lie, I have no idea who those guys were at the end of this and why they are putting Everyman in as Green Arrow again or what not. Was it even Everyman? We never saw any proof of that. This storyline is already annoying and we are only one issue in. The art in this issue was just awful. Why can’t this book get good art? Both Norton and Guedes are better artists then this crap. This book has just gone down hill.

A Brilliant And Heroic Plan

Azrael (Volume 2) #2
Written by Fabian Nicieza
Art by Ramon Bachs

I was happy to find the debut issue of this series to be engaging even thought I was unfamiliar with the new Azrael before this. I am also happy to report that this issue does nothing to change my opinion. This is a very interesting story and character. We are getting snippets of Michael’s past while at the same time we are seeing how this character thinks through his actions. His plan on saving the two kidnapped people in this issue was brilliant, and took not only faith that the White Ghost would do the right thing, but it also showed that the new Azrael is not quick to make judgments based on race or gender. He is a hero. Not to mention he has two really cool swords!

Some Questions About It All

Vigilante (Volume 3) #12
Written by Marv Wolfman
Art by Rick Leonardi

This is the final issue of this series and the ending kinda confused me. Did Dorian switch faces with someone and is not actually in jail? If not, who was the masked guy? What do they mean by not the end? I can’t imagine another series that this story could play out in. I did like the reveal of what exactly happened in Dorian’s past but I was also confused by that. Did he actually murder his wife or was he framed? If so, it is really hard to relate to a man who murdered his pregnant wife in a rage, even if he is trying to redeem himself. But maybe I just need to be more forigiving, I do not know. This overall was a good series but had no chance in the market. DC triec their best with the Titans crossover but in the end it didn’t work. Oh well. Wolfman is a great writer and DC Should put him on something else soon.

Quick Read

Superman/Batman #66
Written by Scott Kolins
Art by Kolins

As it turns out, Bizarro is much more interesting in Black Lantern emotional spectrum vision then he is without it. Haha. I like that he said he was full of rage when the Black Lantern saw love. Nice use of the opposite speech and twisting it to fit Blackest Night perfectly. It was also great to see Frankenstein and the Bride. This was good but a little rushed. It was a quick read.

An Old Goddess

The Warlord (Volume 4) #8
Written by Mike Grell
Art by Grell

So the woman that Morgan was talking to turned out to be an old Atlantean Goddess I think I am not sure. But I did like the discussion of religion and gods in this issue and the recap of the Warlord’s origin. Grell’s art is inconsistent and I think it is the inker – whoever that was. This series needs to have recaps of previous issues if it wants to bring in new readers or sustain the few it already has. I have said it before and I will keep saying it. I also kind of wish that there had been some connection to Aquaman with all the Atlantian stuff but Grell didn’t go in that direction. It would have been nice.

Batman and Manhunter Kissing In A Tree?

Batman: Streets of Gotham #6
Written by Christopher Yost
Art by Dustin Nguyen
Co-Feature by Marc Andreyko
Art by Jeremy Haun

This was a decent issue. I don’t really have much to say about it. Yost toned down the blood-thirstiness of the Huntress which was good. I like Man-Bat’s mentioning of being in Louisiana – acknowledging how he was in the Outsiders and this. Nice use of continuity and it shows how strong of an editor Marts is with the Batman line. The Manhunter Co-Feature wasn’t as fun as last issue and I don’t really like Dylan as a character so I am not excited to see him come back in Kate’s life. But I am interested to see how this Dick Grayson – Kate Spencer dating thing will pan out.

Blackest Night Descends Upon The Outsiders

Outsiders (Volume 4) #24
Written by Peter Tomasi
Art by Fernando Pasarin

The penultimate issue of Tomasi’s run may be the strongest issue of his run yet. That could be due to the strength of the Blackest Night concept or because Tomasi get the character of Terra – the evil girl who infiltrated the Teen Titans and betrayed them. She was not duped or drugged by Deathstroke – she was a bad person. It’s pure and simple. I love that Krul and Tomasi are acknowledging this as for a while DC seem to be heading in the direction of ignoring the intent of Marv Wolfman when he created her and pretending that she was this sweet girl who got corrupted. I love how Black Lantern Terra is just as manipulative as she was in life. She acts all sweet and kind to her brother even with that horrible zombie look – and he believes her! It was awesome. You know she is setting a trap for the Outsiders. It was great to see Katana and Halo’s close friendship acknowledged (Although she calls her Violet again ahh!) and Katana’s family who I hadn’t even predicted would show up as black lanterns.

Brought Back Too Soon

Adventure Comics #4
Written by Geoff Johns and Sterling Gates
Art by Jerry Ordway
Co-Feature by Johns and Michael Shoemaker
Art by Clayton Henry

If it weren’t for the fact that I know Johns is leaving this book after issue six, I would be okay with this Blackest Night interlude focusing on Superboy-Prime versus Black Lantern Alex Luthor but with this interlude, it means we are only getting one more issue of Superboy and that just sucks. Oh well. This was still good. It was great to see Earth-Prime comic shops and Superboy-Prime reading them to find out what happens next. And of course it was just awesome to see my  favorite Legion (The Legion of Earth-Prime) back! But I got to say that we just saw Superboy-Prime in Legion of Three Worlds and I think he is being brought back way too soon. The Legion back-up was probably the best it has been yet with a sweet story about Blok and White Witch.

The Trial of Reactron

Supergirl (Volume 5) #47
Written by Sterling Gates
Art by Matt Camp

Supergirl bring Reactron to New Krypton and the trial doesn’t go so well. A lynch mob comes after him and in the fight Reactron is killed. I knew it wouldn’t be that easy and I was correct. Alura and Gor conspired to have him taken away and tortured for information about earth in secret. Alura feels horrible about what she is doing but sees it as necessary, but she knows her late husband or her daughter wouldn’t approve. This was a decent issue. I liked the insight into the character of Alura and her hardened exterior and it was great to see the flashbacks with her and Zor-El. I wish this was more of a Supergirl focused issue but that is okay. I am sure we will get to see more of her next issue.

Journey Into Devil’s Square

Batman #693
Written by Tony Daniel
Art by Daniel

Daniel once again shows he has what it takes to write Batman, there was more story to this issue then in all three issues of his Battle for the Cowl. It was good to see the Bat Family working together (Although I wish we could have seen Cassandra Cain!) during the party and we check in on everything that is going on in Gotham. I am dying to know who the Black Mask is. Is Devil’s Square a new concept? I don’t remember that area of Gotham being mentioned before or am I wrong? I am excited to see Riddler returning to his old criminal self. The Riddler as detective thing has been fun for a while but I mean who didn’t think he would be a villain again? And the way he switches back is so comic bookey I love it. I was excited to see the Barbara-Dick-Helena love triangle again. I forgot that he slept with Huntress back in the day. Plus, I may be in the minority here, but I have never bought the Dick and Barbara relationship. I always felt like they should be close friends and not lovers.

Deadshot History

Secret Six (Volume 3) #15
Written by John Ostrander
Art by J. Caliafore

This guest issue by the old Suicide Squad team was decent. It recapped the origins of Deadshot and his first meeting with Batman – things I didn’t know about the character. It always nice to learn about a character’s history. Caliafore’s art was good and was consistent with the art on this series usually. I think there were some things that were unclear about Deadshot’s family but all-in-all I’d say that this issue was a success.

Brainiacs Two And Three

R.E.B.E.L.S. #10
Written by Tony Bedard
Art by Andy Clarke

 

Okay I didn’t expect Vril Dox to get a Sinestro Corps ring at all! Bedard wove Blackest Night in with his own mega-story about Starro perfectly. Both people coming in for the Blackest Night stuff and previous readers will enjoy this issue. Clarke’s art is great to see again, let’s hope he stays around this time. I like that Vril’s son is now Brainiac 3. This was a good issue.

I Want To Hate This Book

Batgirl (Volume 3) #4
Written by Bryan Q. Miller
Art by Tim Levins and Lee Garbett

 

I want so much to hate this book! Especially after watching Kyle Rayner died over in Green Lantern Corps, I really want this book to be awful because I love Cassandra Cain so much. Unfortunately, this book is a lot of fun. Stephanie is making for an interesting Batgirl. Can we at least see Cassandra though? Is Babs aware of where she is? Steph’s new costume is cool and make me miss Cassandra less now that we aren’t seeing Cassie’s Batgirl costume on the page.  So this is series is easier to read and less of a reminder that DC continues to disrespect my favorite comic book character. Barbara and Steph’s relationship is a lot of fun and Steph has great one-liners. I have to say that this issue was a definite success. I am not sure that putting Steph against Livewire was such a good idea. Could they not have had a Gotham villain to face? I am glad that I am enjoying this, don’t get me wrong, I know that I would enjoy it more if it was about Cassandra Cain or at least mentioned her.

Moving Across The Country

Titans (Volume 2) #19
Written by J.T. Krul
Art by Angel Unzueta

When this issue’s opening said it took place in Star City I was a little annoyed. Why would Roy live in Star City? That’s all the way on the other side of the country from Titans Compound in New York and he is not the Flash. I spoke too soon as it is explained he just moved to Star City to get Lian out of New York and because he felt the Titans were drifting apart. That leaves Donna, Cyborg, Flash, and Starfire as members of “Titans East” and we know three out of four are going to be in the Justice League. Will Flash stay with the team after Deathstroke takes over? I highly doubt it. It is starting to look like Wallace is going to be creating an all-new team when he takes over this book, which I am not complaining about. It could be interesting. This was a nice character study of Red Arrow and his relationship with Lian. I liked it. These done-in-one character studies have been better then anything in this book before. I guess that means it is time for a whole new team.

The Return of Vicki Vale

Red Robin #6
Written by Christopher Yost
Art by Marco To

I didn’t expect Hush (who is still posing as Bruce Wayne) to become involved in this series but I did like the scenes between him and Vicki Vale. I have had minimal exposure to the character of Vicki Vale. She was already gone from Bruce’s life when I started reading comics so I know her most from Kim Basinger’s portrayal in 1989’s Batman. I always thought she was interesting though and I hope Yost explore her past relationship with Bruce further. Tim’s fight with the Council of Spiders is interesting and I like how Yost is adding more to the rich mythos that are the league of Assassins. We really are learning how powerful of an organization this is. I see that this takes place after Blackest Night or at least after Blackest Night: Batman. I like that they clarified that. I also highly doubt that Tam Fox is going to get killed.

Intertwined

Action Comics #883
Written by Greg Rucka and Eric Trautmann
Art by Pere Perez
Co-Feature by Rucka and James Robinson
Art by Cafu

The Superman books are some of the best intriguing, story-driven, and exciting comics I have read in a long time. Robinson and Rucka have crafted such a wonderful mystery here and I will keep saying it again and again. We finally get to see the Nightwing entity in action this issue albeit briefly. I love the new Nightwing and Flamebird costumes. They are simple and visually appealing and I like how they honor Superman on their belts. I hope these costumes stick around. Jimmy Olsen’s (possible murder) disappearance is investigated by Perry White. I am surprised that that plot point is being followed up here instead of by Robinson over in Superman but that just goes to show how tightly intertwined the books are right now. The Captain Atom co-feature makes great use of continuity by referencing Superman/Batman and Captain Atom’s time as monarch. I love continuity shout-outs like that! I guess that is why my blog is named what it is. Anyways, the art was fantastic and so was the writing on it. Great issue.