BatCon 52 – 54

Batman Confidential #52
Written by Marc Guggenhiem
Art by Jerry Bingham

Batman calls the Justice League for help and that is about it. This would seem to be before he became a full-time member. This was probably the best issue of this arc so far.

Batman Confidential #53
Written by Marc Guggenhiem
Art by Jerry Bingham

 

Okay DC you need to decide who was a founding member or not! This issue reads like Batman is definitely not a founding member of the Justice League as he has said to have been post-Infinite Crisis. How annoying. Total continuity mistake made this unreadable for me. And if they were gonna go with the Post-Crisis, Pre-Infinite Crisis continuity where Batman was not a founder – why isn’t Black Canary there! This is just dumb.

Batman Confidential #54
Written by Marc Guggenhiem
Art by Jerry Bingham

 

The continuity mistakes (And the fact that the two stories told never connect) made this arc a lousy read for me. And this issue also marks the final issue of this book. This was a book chock full of continuity mistakes with some great arcs in between. The Batgirl and the Wrath arcs come to mind but otherwise I am not going to miss this series at all.

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.

Gathering Shadow

Justice League of America #54
Written by James Robinson
Art by Brett Booth

 

This was a fantastic issue as Eclipso gathers shadow-based characters for some kind of plan. It even goes back and looks at the history of Eclipso which even I needed some refreshing on. Once again Robinson really makes the DC Universe seem like a vast wonderland as he pulls characters from its history – both obscure and famous. There were some more shadow villains I could think of – such as Shadow-of-War but hey he picked the ones he did for a reason I am sure. Booth’s art is going to take some getting used to as some parts of this issue seemed too much like Ed Benes (That is not a good thing) and the beginning two pages make no sense in terms of who was in the League at the same time I mean why are Vibe and Red Arrow shown to be in the team together at the same time!

Just Bring On The Eclipso

Justice League of America #53
Written by James Robinson
Art by Mark Bagley

 

I was disappointed with the conclusion to this arc. I mean it was better then anything pre-Robinson but man was it not that great of an ending and Bagley…he must have known he was leaving when he drew this cause this was a weak issue on his part. That last splash page could have used some serious editing. Elasti-Woman is wearing the wrong costume and Damage is there – Damage is dead! Come on DC! I am looking forward to next month’s Rise of Eclipso story though!

Superman Batman 79 and 80

Superman/Batman #79
Written by Chris Roberson
Art by Jesus Merino

 

Roberson introduce (or re-introduces for some) to the DC Universe of the 853rd Century and I am one of the few who have never read DC One Million and therefore I am fascinated by this Justice Legion with its many worlds and I can’t wait to see more next issue. Epoch Lord of Time doesn’t seem like a new character but I could be wrong but he was a great way to frame the story and allow for the past and the future to collide.

Superman/Batman #80
Written by Chris Roberson
Art by Jesus Merino

Epoch is stopped by the Bronze Age World’s Finest and travels through time being defeated by each era’s Batman and Superman – Brilliant! I am looking forward to seeing more of Roberson’s run on the main Super-book after reading this awesomeness.

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.

This Arc

Justice League of America #52
Written by James Robinson
Art by Mark Bagley

 

At this point I can probably say that I like this arc a lot less then the previous epic one as I really don’t care for Dark Supergirl or the Crime Syndicate all that much. It’s not a bad issue at all though and it is certainly much better then anything this book had pre-Robinson.

Memory Wipe

Power Girl (Volume 2) #19
Written by Judd Winick
Art by Sami Basri

 

I liked that the JSA All-Stars actually believed Power Girl about Maxwell Lord. I mean she is their proven leader and they would have no reason to doubt her – I feel like a lot of writers would have went there though so I am glad Winick did not. It’s too bad even PeeGee forgets about Lord soon after. One thing that kind of bothered me is that Power Girl was a member of Justice League Europe and probably didn’t have many adventures with Fire, Ice, and the rest of Justice League America but I can buy that they had a few. Anyways, this was a really good issue as Winick has really made the whole Generation Lost plotline pretty epic and the surprise success of the brightest day line. We need to see Terra soon though.

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.

The Rebirth of Dark Supergirl

Justice League of America #51
Written by James Robinson
Art by Mark Bagley

Robinson once again shows how much he understands and loves the DC Universe with the beginning of this issue. Instead of a random assortment of heroes trying to save Washington DC, we actually get an explanation for why each of the persons’ powers can help the situation. That is a rare feat in comics and I like the attention to detail! Meanwhile, the League is dealing with the threat of Omega Man – who is a bastard yet we don’t even know who he is yet and he has brought back Dark Supergirl. I miss Starman but this this is getting just as epic as the last arc! Great stuff!

Like The Creators, But Not The Comic

Batman Confidential #50
Written by Marc Guggenheim
Art by Jerry Bingham

The switches between the far East and Gotham left me very confused as to what the hell was going on in this issue. The second feature with the Justice League was interesting but I still just didn’t care. Definitely not impressed with this arc so far and I like these creators.

Earths

Justice League of America #50
Written by James Robinson
Art by Mark Bagley

 

I liked this issue as it begins the new Crime Syndicate arc. Normally I would be annoyed to see another Crime Syndicate story but I would like to see them up against the new League. I think it’s ashame that Robinson thought it was necessary to have them destroy the Tangent universe of Earth-9…but we don’t know if it will be completely destroyed yet. One thing that annoyed the crap out of me that put me in a bad mood while reading it is that Alexander Luthor is NOT FROM THE ANTI-MATTER EARTH! He is from the long-dead Pre-Crisis Earth-3, so why does the Crime Syndicate act like they know him and why would he want to have their world destroyed after his death???? I sure hope this isn’t a huge continuity mistake and Robinson will explain it. Otherwise, still loving Robinson’s run and the new League.

The Prison’s Top Bitch Kitty

Booster Gold (Volume 2) #36
Written by Keith Giffen and J.M. Demateis
Art by Pat Olliffe

 

The title of this post is also what Estrogina – a new character I believe – refers to herself as in the last page of this issue haha awesome. I liked this issue and I like that they are tying into Invasion – which I didn’t expect to happen. But I don’t know, I am not sure that they have Skeet’s “voice” quite right. He is almost too human in this? Skeets is great and I think he is very human-like. But Jurgens always wrote him with less, smart ass remarks I guess. Either way, Giffen and Demateis have quite a lot going on here. It is pure craziness with Ted Kord turned into a chipmunk and a kitty bitch haha.

Streets of Gotham 15 and 16

Batman: Streets of Gotham #15
Written by Ivan Brandon
Art by Ramon Bachs

 

This is kinda weird…replacing the back up as the main feature in the middle of an arc. I don’t know why Dini is having trouble getting his scripts in on time but whatever this was good. It was violent and disturbing as a Two-Face story should be and ends with Two-Face getting stabbed brutally by his lackeys and thrown in a river. I doubt he’s actually dead but it sure seems that way.

Batman: Streets of Gotham #16
Written by Paul Dini
Art by Dustin Nguyen
Co-Feature by Ivan Brandon
Art by Ramon Bachs

The main story continues “House of Hush” and it is really good. It focuses once again on fleshing out a back story dealing with the Waynes and we get more moments from Bruce and Tommy’s childhood. I have said before and I will say it again that Dini has given Hush more depth then Loeb ever did or could. Zatanna showing up was weird….does Dini have to put her in everything he writes? He writes her well don’t get me wrong though. The Two-Face back up has Harvery being found and taken care of by a priest and has a pretty shocking ending I don’t want to ruin here. Good stuff.

Characters

Justice League of America #49
Written by James Robinson
Art by Pow Rodrix and Robson Rocha

 

This was a brilliant interlude that really takes a look at the characters of Donna Troy and Jade in particular. Robinson shows he knows their past and gets how they tick but also how he is going to move them forward. I love how he brings in old continuity like the Bogeyman but does it in a way that makes sense and natural. Even in the one panel scenes we get of some of the other Leaguers he demonstrates how much he gets those characters. This is awesome writing. The art was okay…Bagley is missed though.

Much Better Than The Lightning Saga

Justice League of America #48
Written by James Robinson
Art by Mark Bagley
Co-Feature by Robinson
Art by Pow Rodrix

 

This is the conclusion of the JLA/JSA crossover that began here and continued here, here, and here. I can’t say I was disappointed with the end of this per say because it was such an epic story. The perfect type of no-holds-barred story that should make an JLA/JSA crossover (And a hell of a lot better then the freaking Lightning Saga) but it left me a little confused as to how Jade fixed everything and why Obsidian and Jade can’t be near eachother anymore. But anyways, I loved every page and loved the moment where the League comes together and realizes they truly are the Justice League now and nothing can stop them. Jesse Quick officially joins here but Jade does not. I suppose she will  next issue. And the back-up was okay too.

Archetypical Bullet

Batman #702
Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Tony Daniel

 

This concludes the lost chapter of R.I.P and I have to say I quite enjoyed this issue. One wonders why this wasn’t told back then but oh well we got a lot more information here about how Bruce was sent back in time by the Omega Sanction. I love how Morrison describes the God-Bullet as the archetypical bullet – the bullet of all bullets – therefore truly Batman’s ultimate enemy. Great writing and really cool stuff to think about. I am not sure where and how Batman recorded the message for Superman though. I will probably have to go back and reread.