Expectations

Gotham City Sirens #21
Written by Peter Calloway
Art by Andres Guinaldo

 

This was another great issue of Sirens. Two in a row after a so-so opening arc for Calloway on this book! Harley succumbs to her love for the Joker after all. I loved it and I wasn’t expecting that but I should have! The story of the Guards’ kid was very sad and showed just how twisted the Joker really is. I didn’t expect Catwoman and Ivy to part ways in this either. Love the art as well!

The Return of the Crusader

Batman #708
Written by David Hine
Art by Guillem March

 

This is the first part of the Judgement on Gotham crossover that was lead up to from the now cancelled Azrael series. You don’t have to read the Azrael book to get this but it certainly helps. It was great to see the Crusader back as he was definitely the best villain to come out of that book. March’s Batman is drawn differently here, but not in a bad way. I guess Devil’s Square has replaced the East End as Gotham’s “bad neighborhood” now. I hope we get to see the East End again eventually as it was Catwoman’s stomping grounds for so long. No idea what is going on with Dick after being stabbed with the sword but it’s an interesting mystery and this was a good start to the crossover.

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!

Streets of Gotham 19 and 20

Batman: Streets of Gotham #19
Written by Paul Dini
Art by Dustin Nguyen

 

The House of Hush storyline seems all over the place here filled with time jumps but I don’t mind cause it has been a good story so far and I loved the Joker stuff in this.

Batman: Streets of Gotham #20
Written by Paul Dini
Art by Dustin Nguyen

This was even more flashback to the Waynes and this time includes the Justice Society with Hippolyta on the team!! Despite comments by Didio and DCU Legacies, I knew she was still the Golden Age Wonder Woman! It is weird how Nguyen draws her here though.

Next Arc

Gotham City Sirens #19
Written by Peter Calloway
Art by Andres Guinaldo

 

Calloway manages to conclude the current arc and start the next arc in one issue as Talia’s plan is thwarted (Not without blowing up the Sirens headquarters) and Harley decides to go after the Joker all in this issue. It wasn’t a bad issue but I hope that the next arc (Calloway’s second on this book) is more intriguing then his first. I have high hopes.

Girl Sidekicks

Batman #706
Written by Tony Daniel
Art by Daniel

 

There seems to be a theme of girl sidekicks running through this book as both Riddler’s Daughter and Catgirl show up. I am looking forward to seeing more of Enigma as her backstory has never been really explained but Riddler does act like she may be his actual daughter in this. Though you would think the Riddler would know better then to mess with Batman’s suit? As always Daniel continues to utilize Gotham City to its fullest and I am loving his run so far.

Rule Number One: No Guns

Batman Incorporated #2
Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Yanick Paquette

 

Giant Octupuses in apartment buildings and Giant Gorillas and Shiny Happy Aquazons! This is comics! So I was right that that guy would become Mr. Unknown (Kinda actually he was Mr. Unknown all along and is now the Batman of Japan) and this book is kicking ass and taking names. There is something so cool about Batman traveling the world and recruiting new people to his cause that…well…I just never thought it would be this cool. Long live the Batman of Japan!

Settling In

Gotham City Sirens #18
Written by Peter Calloway
Art by Jeremy Haun

 

This issue was much better as it is revealed Talia is behind all of this wanting to erase Catwoman of her memories of Batman and I liked the dialogue between Harley and Ivy. I think Calloway is finally getting settled writing this book. I still don’t buy Zatanna even thinking about mindwiping Selina again but oh well.

Fallen For This Book

Action Comics #895
Written by Paul Cornell
Art by Pete Woods
Co-Feature by Nick Spencer
Art by RB Silva

I have seriously fallen in love with Action Comics. This is a book starring Lex Luthor and Jimmy Olsen. I never would have guessed I would be loving it this much but I have to say that this book has stole my heart. Everything about it is good. The Jimmy back-up was hilarious. The Lex story made great use of continuity. In other words, buy it.

Dini?

Gotham City Sirens #17
Written by Peter Calloway
Art by Andres Guinaldo

 

This seemed really decompressed. I mean not much happens here except the girls look for Catwoman, they find Catwoman, and they leave. Where is Dini and why has he been gone from this book for so long? I also highly doubt they are going to actually mind wipe Bruce from Selina’s mind. So while it wasn’t a bad issue, I wasn’t into it that much.

Selina, It’s Me

Batman: Streets of Gotham #17
Written by Paul Dini
Art by Dustin Nguyen
Co-Feature by Fabian Nicieza
Art by Szymon Kudranski

 

The main story continues the House of Hush story arc….which I assumed would feature the fall of Hush before Bruce’s return but I guess not as Bruce reveals himself to Selina as Batman in a great scene at the beginning of this issue. The “Selina, it’s me” moment was just awesome for fans of their relationship and Dini writes their relationship very well. The Bed Bug is another great Gotham villain creation by Dini. How does he keep doing this?! The revelations about The Wayne, Kane, and Elliot families also continue to be interesting. The Ragman backup starts off really well as the art really suits the mood and darkness of Gotham City – especially the underbelly a character like Ragman should explore. I love the theme of Gentrification. Gotham really reminds me of Chicago sometimes. It must be why they set the movies here.

Batman In The Land Of The Rising Sun

Batman Incorporated #1
Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Yanick Paquette

 

This was a decent start to this new series focusing on Batman traveling the globe and recruiting others to Batman Incorporated. It’s not as good as Morrison previous debut on Batman and Robin, but it is still a great comic. I love that Bruce is taking Catwoman along for the ride as they try to recruit Mr. Unknown – Tokyo’s Batman-like crime fighter. I bet the new kid becomes the Mr. Unknown before this is all over.I love the new costume too and it appears everwhere this week! Great time to be a Batman fan!

The Post-Return Gotham

Batman #704
Written by Tony Daniel
Art by Daniel

 

Tony Daniel returns to this book and I am so excited about that as I loved his run prior. Despite writing and drawing the awful Battle for the Cowl, Daniel blew me away on his run on this book as he really brought Gotham to life and took advantage of playing with the great atmosphere that is Gotham City. This time around is no different as we are shown scene from Wayne Tower to Devil’s Square to Crime Alley. I liked seeing Catgirl again too and I actually like her costume a lot more now – I wonder if Daniel tweaked it I am not sure but it works better now. Selina is right, Bruce is being a hypocrite for not wanting Catgirl around but at the same time he always is right? He acted like that with the Spoiler. Great start to the Post-Return of Bruce Wayne Gotham City. Welcome back to writing duties Mr. Daniel!

Sirens 15 and 16

Gotham City Sirens #15
Written by Tony Bedard
Art by Andres Guinaldo

 

In the end, Harley and Catwoman are unable to convince Poison Ivy to not sound with the alien – she has to realize it on her own. I liked that and it was great to see the recap of how Harley and Ivy became friends. Not a bad issue.

Gotham City Sirens #16
Written by Peter Calloway
Art by Andres Guinaldo

 

So when is Dini returning to the title? No one writes Harley Quinn as good as Dini I really miss him. This wasn’t a bad issue though as Talia and Zatanna get involved when they discover that someone with magical powers and who apparently hates trees kidnaps Catwoman hoping to invade her mind and find out who Batman is. Not sure where this is going but it is an interesting start.

Invasion Of The Plant People

Gotham City Sirens #14
Written by Tony Bedard
Art by Andres Guinaldo

 

Poison Ivy discovers Star Labs has been hiding a plant-based alien who has come to earth to start an invasion. She sides with the alien! Makes sense considering what Poison Ivy is but I hope that she is being mind controlled somehow since she is very willing to kill Harley Quinn here and I like to think she wouldn’t actually do that if she wasn’t under some kind of control. This was a good issue – but whatever happened to Dini and March as the creative team??

Who Is This Angel?

Gotham City Sirens #13
Written by Tony Bedard
Art by Peter Nguyen and Andres Guinaldo

 

Hmmm so is Maggie Kyle really being lead by an angel? It seems so or is it something else? Something sinister. I don’t know as it is clearly not just a hallucination as Harley saw it too. This was a quick read but it was still good and it was a great recap of Catwoman history. I loved seeing the nineties costume again too. I wonder when this will be followed up as Dini is sure to return as regular writer next month.

To 700 More!

Batman #700
Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Tony Daniel, Frank Quitely, Andy Kubert, Scott Kolins, and David Finch

 

Morrison returns to the main Batman book to celebrate the 700th issue. I am not sure why everyone around the blogosphere wants to rip on this book. I enjoyed it more then anything Morrison did when he was actually the writer of this series! I liked the look at Batman through different eras and it was awesome to see Batman Beyond and everything. I thought all the art was superb and it worked really well. This was a great anniversary issue.