Make Their Move

Titans (Volume 2) #33
Written by Eric Wallace
Art by Fabrizio Fiorentino

 

Arsenal and Cheshire finally make their move on Deathstroke with the help of an old friend of Slade’s. Gee after this is this even a team anymore? It really will just be Deathstroke and Cinder won’t it?Anyways, I still hate seeing Roy like this.

Taking Power From Shazam

Titans (Volume 2) #32
Written by Eric Wallace
Art by Fabrizio Fiorentino and Phillip Tan

 

Now this was an enjoyable issue as we finally as Osiris is officially restored to life by the white light after he takes Freddy Freeman’s powers away which somehow bring Isis back but something bad has happened to her apparently. I am actually excited to see what happens next which is not something I say often about this book. Tatooed Man leaves and Deathstroke gives more hints that this whole team has something to do with Jericho.

Pick A Name And Stick To It

Titans (Volume 2) #31
Written by Eric Wallace
Art by Fabrizio Fiorentino

 

Okay DC you need to decide whether Freddy Freeman is going by Captain Marvel or Shazam – in story its always Shazam – but in the text and their advertisements it’s like that can’t decide which is really unprofessional and annoying. Pick one! Osiris is way over the edge and this book is in no way fun to read anymore – from Arsenal’s downward spiral (hell at least he isn’t an outright villain just yet) to the disgusting murder of Slipknot I just didn’t care for this issue. And this is coming from someone who doesn’t mind violence in comics all that much.

Leaving Arkham

Titans (Volume 2) #30
Written by Eric Wallace
Art by Fabrizio Fiorentino

 

It’s a shame this Arkham arc is coming to an end as this has been the best this book has been since the Villains for Hire thing started. Heck any comic set in Arkham is usually a treat but this setting really amped up the fun for this series which I found to just be incredibly depressing before. Osiris leaves and swares off killing for now, which is a good thing, although it was kind of abrupt and the confrontation between Dick and Roy was great cause I am glad to see that Dick still believes in his friend even if Roy has become a drug addicted mess. I wonder where this is going.

Arkham Fights

Titans (Volume 2) #29
Written by Eric Wallace
Art by Fabrizio Fiorentino

 

This was an okay issue but I don’t feel like a lot happened – just a lot of fighting inside Arkham and Tattooed Man talking about his dead son – who I didn’t even know was dead. But it’s still Arkham and that is always fun. Osiris is completely nuts now.

A Trip To Arkham

Titans (Volume 2) #28
Written by Eric Wallace
Art by Fabrizio Fiorentino

 

I have to say that this is the best issue of Wallace’s run yet, and that has a lot to do with it is always awesome when a comic is set in Arkham Asylum and the Bat-Villains show up. The idea that the one guard had the key to all the cells is incredibly dumb but whatever. Osiris is a full-on killer now I highly doubt he can be redeemed even if he thinks killing is going to bring his sister back to life. Arsenal is actually quite interesting as a drug addict but it’s still so sad to see him like that. It was just as heartbreaking to see Ray Palmer investigating Ryan Choi’s disappearance. A part of me still has some hope that Ryan may still be alive somehow.

Cracking Up

Titans (Volume 2) #27
Written by Eric Wallace
Art by Fabrizio Fiorentino

 

The violence wasn’t as bad as past issues – but this book is still filled with disgusting violence that isn’t even balanced off by humor like over in Secret Six. Everything about this book is depressing from Osiris believing he has to kill to bring back Isis’s to Arsenal’s drug addiction and loss over his daughter. But there is an interesting mystery as to what Deathstroke’s plans are – and why is Isis’s statue cracking? So I am torn about whether I like the new direction of the book or not.

Mind Space

Action Comics #892
Written by Paul Cornell
Art by Pete Woods
Co-Feature by Jeff Lemire
Art by Pier Gallo

 

Lex discovers the spot where the black rings dissapated I take it and it is able to mess with minds. This is deep stuff involving quantum physics and the mind as part of the space-time continuum. Not what I expected when I heard this book would star Lex Luthor but I like it! Cornell has proven to me this will be a good run! Deathstroke is overused and now even has a book he stars in so I think his inclusion here was completely unnecessary but what can you do. The Superboy Co-Feature which is really just a preview of the upcoming Superboy book was interesting to say the least. Why is Raven half-naked throughout it?

Arsenal Joins

Titans (Volume 2) #26
Written by Eric Wallace
Art by Fabrizio Fiorentino

 

Arsenal joins these new Titans with a plan to take down Deathstroke with Cheshire. Roy has changed a lot since Lian’s death and I get that…I hate seeing him like this and I hate that Lian is dead but I see this as what would happen to Roy after he lost his daughter – the most important thing to him in the whole world. Having him in this book makes the team a lot more interesting. This was by far the best issue of Wallace’s run to date. I like that Wallace is also fleshing out the characters by having small moments between each members of the team. One thing really holding this book back is the art…Fiorentino makes some scenes pretty confusing with the way he sets them up. He is a good artist I just think he needs to work on his storytelling skills.

The Mind of Lex Luthor

Action Comics #891
Written by Paul Cornell
Art by Pete Woods

 

Lex is led to fantasies by Mister Mind but ultimately defeats the worm by gaining control. This was a good story to show how envious Lex is of Superman and how he fears his own self. It was interesting. I am enjoying this Lex starring role more then I thought I would and I think that has a lot to do with Cornell’s writing. I was slightly annoyed to see Deathstroke at the end of the issue though. I mean he has his own book now does he still have to guest star in every DC comic!

Directions

Titans (Volume 2) #25
Written by Eric Wallace
Art by Fabrizio Fiorentino

 

The new Titans battle Facade and defeat the shape-shifter in this rather bloody issue. The over-the-top violence works in Secret Six because the humor balances it out – but it really does not work in this book. Yes, they are villains, but it’s hard to read something so violent and take it seriously. I am still not sure if this was the right direction for this book and I hope this is building to something.

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.

Escape

Justice Society of America #39
Written by Bill Willingham
Art by Jesus Merino

 

For some reason I thought this was the conclusion of this arc but I guess not. This was all good as we check up on the heroes making their escape from the Nazis. It was cool to see grown up versions of our favorite heroes. The twist is that Mr. Terrific is going to use Obsidian to send a message back in time I guess we will see how it goes next issue.

HaHaHaHaHa

Batman and Robin #12
Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Andy Clarke

 

Spoiler Warning:

 

A certain clown prince of crime is back after being missing since R.I.P. I did not suspect that he was Oberon Sexton even a little bit. That was a good swerve. As for the rest of this issue, Talia disowns Damian and is creating a new son for herself from his DNA. She is more of a whackjob here then I ever remember her being. You know what else makes Morrison one of if not my favorite comics writer (Yes Johns used to be but now not so much since he began his Hal and Barry Worship phase) is the little continuity references like when Dick confronts Deathstroke and mentions Bludhaven. Slade deserved that. I was wondering when Dick was going to mention his former home city again…it didn’t even seem like he dealt with its destruction even when he was Nightwing. I can’t wait to see what happens next!

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.

Spinal Control

Batman and Robin #11
Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Andy Clarke

Well Deathstroke being involved was completely unexpected and actually not really necessary considering he is one of the most overused characters in the DCU. I liked that Morrison got around to explaining how all of this stuff could be in the manor even after the Gotham Quake…I should have trusted he would explain it he is a guy who respects continuity. The art is gorgeous and everything…but really this book is overrated and not as good as Tony Daniel’s Batman. I like it though. I wonder if Oberon is Bruce, I doubt it but I suppose it is still a possibility since he never really answered when Damian asked him if he was.

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.