In The Middle

Supergirl (Volume 5) #62
Written by James Peaty
Art by Bernard Chang

 

Not sure what is going on here – so is Alex a kryptonian? I doubt it. I loved seeing Miss Martian here (why isn’t she in Titans again?) but this issue didn’t really do it for me. It was neither great nor bad.

Hidden Oracle

Birds of Prey (Volume 2) #10
Written by Gail Simone
Art by Inaki Miranda

Cassandra Cain gets name dropped again as Tim asks why she doesn’t have access to Kord Tower. I don’t know that I am completely satisfied with the answer that she has too much going on now because well…we are never shown what the hell she has going on. I hope this wasn’t a throw away line and Gail or DC editors plan to show us what is going on with Cass soon enough. This was an otherwise fantastic issue that showed off how tough the Birds are and how it was a good plan to fake Oracle’s death. Loved the bit with Catwoman too!

Booster Gold 40 and 41

Booster Gold (Volume 2) #40
Written by Keith Giffen and J.M. Demateis
Art by Pat Olliffe

 

This was an okay issue setting up the threat, recapping Booster’s life, and a surprise ending. I am sure Rip has his reasons for this.

Booster Gold (Volume 2) #41
Written by Keith Giffen and J.M. Demateis
Art by Chris Batista

 

So were we supposed to recognize the guy at the end of this? And the idea that Booster would willingly turn himself in after all these years – or that Rip would think it was a good idea – is just absurd. Not impressed with this issue.

Not Sure What To Think

Titans (Volume 2) #24
Written by Eric Wallace
Art by Fabrizio Fiorentino

 

The new era of Titans begins as Deathstroke’s group of villains for hire take center stage as the new cast – it is an interesting idea and kind of strange but I am not completely against it. Having the former Teen Titans in this book wasn’t exactly doing anything for it – I just wish they hadn’t launched this concept with the death of Ryan Choi. Anyways, this wasn’t an awful start – it was certain violent but it is expected I guess. I am not sure what to think just yet about any of this. I certainly liked the art a lot.

The Coven Betters The Titans

Teen Titans (Volume 3) #83
Written by Felicia D. Henderson
Art by Jose Luis
Co-Feature by Rex Ogle
Art by Ted Naifeh

 

With all the poor dialogue and abrupt changing of scenes, one thing can be said about Henderson is that she utilizes all the Titans effectively and their powers. I appreciate that. Otherwise, yes this is awful dialogue. The sad thing is the plot is not bad, she should be a plotter just maybe not a writer. Superboy and Aquagirl is interesting….I can’t see Cassie and Connor officially breaking up. Blue Beetle is gone with this issue I guess. Anyways, I guess we are just killing time till Krul begins his run on this book. Luckily, the new back-up was just awesome! I was excited for this new team of teen magic heroes – but I didn’t expect it to be this good! I can’t wait to see Black Alice, Traci 13, and Zatara team up! Speaking of Traci 13, up until this issue I always found the character to be boring. Nice job Ogle!

Corny Titans

Teen Titans (Volume 3) #82
Written by Felecia D. Henderson
Art by Jose Luis
Co-Feature by Sean McKeever
Art by Yildiray Cinar

Wow…this is just getting awful. Henderson’s dialogue is painful to read. I give her credit for this though, the team is getting pretty big and she manages to have all the characters have a moment or tow in this issue where they stand out. No one was unused and I always like that. But that doesn’t make up for how bad the dialogue and corny it is. Plus why is Wonder Girl mad at Superboy? They were doing fine last I checked and I don’t know if this was an art problem or what not but I have no idea what happened when Holocaust’s lair blew up. Why were Superboy and Kid Flash acting like the rest of the Titans were dead but completely emotionless about it? Did they know they weren’t dead? How did they survive the blast anyways? It is good to have Superboy and Kid Flash back but this book really needs to improve quickly. In the much better back-up, It breaks my heart to see Kid Devil again, even if it is just Rose’s hallucination. I hate that he is dead and they can’t continue their relationship…it was such a needless death too and he wasn’t even used in Blackest Night. This marked the end of the Ravager back-up and once again McKeever shows how much he understands this character. I will miss him on this book.

Reversed

Justice Society of America #38
Written by Bill Willingham
Art by Jesus Merino

 

This issue takes a look at the past (at least the past for this story which is set 20 years from now after the Fourth Reich has taken over) and what has happened to the many heroes when they’re powers went out. I laughed out loud when Hal Jordan’s dumb ass died. (Is that wrong?) and I liked this, even if it was a very dark and depressing issue, I am just itching to know how it is all going to be reversed. Time Travel?

Retirement

Teen Titans (Volume 3) #81
Written by Felecia D. Henderson
Art by Joe Bennett
Co-Feature by Sean McKeever
Art by Yildiray Cinar

 

Yeah…not sure what to say about this issue. This is the big return of Superboy and Kid Flash to the Teen Titans. I am not sure how I understand what the hell Cyborg was talking about with retirement…is he returning to the team? I don’t really get it. Why is Miss Martian shooting stuff out of her head too? Was she always able to do that? We will see where this goes I guess. The Ravager back-up was very suspenseful…I wonder if Rose will be able save the innocent? I sure hope so.

Future

Justice Society of America #37
Written by Bill Willingham
Art by Jesus Merino

 

The JSA versus the fourth Reich once again in this issue. Seriously this book is just as good as it was under Johns if not better. I love Merino’s art and Willingham’s characterization. The idea of the Fourth Reich is such a comic bookey concept you can’t help but love it – all of these old Archie Comic villains being brought to life is cool too. The Shadow of War is a particularly cool looking villain. I am not sure where this is all going, I am sure that this future can not come to past. It was definitely cool to see a grown up Jaime Reyes though.

Family

Titans (Volume 2) #23
Written by Eddie Berganza
Art by Scott Clark and Ardian Syaf

 

I think I have said enough about how disgusting it was for DC to kill off Lian Harper, but I did enjoy this issue. Okay I hated it at first but I liked the look back at the history of this team and it reminds me of me and my friends over the years, you go through rough spots, but it makes you closer in the end. There was something very real about all this. Sure it was filled with unnecessary retcons – I don’t remember Donna and Roy being that serious or the Titans finding about Roy’s drug abuse – but I still enjoyed it. I guess because it profiles probably the greatest family in all of comics – the Titans. They have stuck together through bad and worse and I love that about them and I am glad they are becoming Justice Leaguers now.

Missing In Dakota

Teen Titans (Volume 3) #80
Written by Felecia D. Henderson
Art by Joe Bennet and Eduardo Pansica
Co-Feature by Sean McKeever
Art by Yildiray Cinar

 

What is with DC’s editors lately? This issue contained another panel of misplace word balloons! It really took me out of the story and got me confused. That is no good. Not to mention the facial expressions don’t seem to match what people are saying half the time which has been a problem with this book for a while. Henderson’s dialogue is kinda awkward but I can’t say that I did not enjoy the story and she had me convinced that Holocaust had become a hero of Dakota. I wonder why the Titans aren’t looking for Kid Eternity…I mean he is the one who is really missing but they are freaking out that Static went out for a bit in this issue. I wonder if the Kid Eternity thing will ever be addressed. Hmm. The Ravager back-up once again shows how much McKeever gets the character of Rose Wilson so that was good.

Fifty Issues And Still No Mention of Linda Danvers! Come On!

Supergirl (Volume 5) #50
Written by Sterling Gates
Art by Jamal Igle
Co-Feature by Helen Slater
Art by Cliff Chaing

 

The main feature of this book was Supergirl vs. Lana as Insect Queen. I liked that we fast forwarded a few days later and Supergirl is now a prisoner of the hive, and is rescued by Gangbuster and Doctor Light. But Kara takes down the Queen way too easily for a story that has been building for so long. I have a feeling this was rushed due to the New Krypton storyline which is kind of a shame. Kare’s reaction and anger toward Lana seems like her old self and that is kind of annoying so I don’t know how I feel about this issue just yet. The Helen Slater written back-up was a neat little look at the history of this Supergirl and I rather enjoyed it. But damn…I thought in 50 issues Linda Danvers, the previous Supergirl, could have been mentioned somewhere!

Seven Million Lives

Booster Gold (Volume 2) #29
Written by Dan Jurgens
Art by Jurgens
Co-Feature by Matthew Sturges
Art by Mike Norton

 

Booster arrives in Coast City at the hour of its death in this very suspenseful issue. You can just feel the tock clicking for the fictional city’s seven million inhabitants as you read this issue. The debate Booster has with the government agent from the future is a valid one and makes you think. Could Rip Hunter be right? Could seven million people need to die so history is not altered? I do not know but it’s interesting to ponder about such a question. Great stuff. The Blue Beetle back-up was a rushed finale.to the feature. It made me sad, why exactly is Blue Beetle not going to be in this title anymore again? Shouldn’t they wait to see how a trade paperback does before booting Jaime from the book? Oh well.

Titans In Dakota

Teen Titans (Volume 3) #79
Written by Felecia D. Henderson
Art by Joe Bennet
Co-Feature by Sean McKeever
Art by Yldiray Cinar

 

Static returns to Dakota after a virus hits the city hard. We are introduced to the Hawkins family and I wish there would have been more narration or something because I don’t know much about Static’s history with these characters or Dakota in general and it was hard to follow at parts. It was good to see Wonder Girl acting confident as a leader but sometimes it was a little much, like Henderson was beating a dead horse with it. Bombshell was right when she said that they shouldn’t talk about it anymore. Speaking of Bombshell, I am starting to really like her. Bennet’s art is still pretty annoying and Aquagirl and Blue Beetle both don’t look very hispanic in this issue. There definitely needs to be less use of first names as well, I mean what is this Meltzer’s Teen Titans. Henderson isn’t a bad writer, but she needs to step her game a bit before I can say that her run has been a success. The Ravager back-up was pretty short and I don’t have much to say about it.

Keep Jurgens

Booster Gold (Volume 2) #28
Written by Dan Jurgens
Art by Jurgens
Co-Feature by Matthew Sturges
Art by Mike Norton

I was sad to hear that Jurgens was leaving this title. Can’t we at least keep him on the art DC? He is the perfect Booster Gold creator! (He is also THE creator of Booster) His run may not have been a huge sales success but it has been darn good and this issue is no exception. I like the idea of Goldstar going back in time to Coast City (although I think she remembered that the City was going to be destroyed a little too quickly) and it was fun to see Booster in the Death of Superman era. The Blue Beetle back-up kind’ve annoyed me. Didn’t we get past the scarab turning Jaime evil thing in John Rogers’s excellent run….and since when is the scarab from Bialya and not Egypt. Sturges seems to be running out of ideas here.

Honoring The Dead

Booster Gold (Volume 2) #27
Written by Dan Jurgens
Art by Jurgens and Mike Norton

While this issue was not as powerful on an emotional level as last issue was, it was still a great issue and a great way to honor Ted Kord. I am not sure if I liked the way Jurgens characterized Jaime Reyes here, he seemed a little more in experienced that he has been shown to be of late, but it wasn’t too bad. Next issue I am excited to get back to the main story as it looks like Booster will be going to save his sister from Coast City’s destruction by Cyborg Superman in the past. That should be good. That’s all I really have to say about this issue.

Jurgens The Underrated

Booster Gold (Volume 2) #26
Written by Dan Jurgens
Art by Jurgens and Mike Norton

Jurgens is by far one of if not the best artists DC has, why doesn’t he get any appreciation for it?! He is also just as good of a writer. You don’t have to have read anything with Booster Gold before and you would completely understand and enjoy this issue. If you know Booster’s history, you will enjoy it more but that means it is a good use of continuity. I loved every page of this issue. Pick this up if you are a fan or just someone getting into DC through Blackest Night.