Teen Titans 92 and 93

Teen Titans (Volume 3) #92
Written by J.T. Krul
Art by Georges Jeanty

This is the conclusion of the crossover with Red Robin that began here. It was decent I am just so sick of the Calculator as a villain. DC needs to give him a rest. The biggest thing to come out of this issue was Red Robin returning to the Titans with Robin leaving. I did not see that coming actually I figured they would keep Damian on for longer but I have no problem with that. I wonder how this will affect Cassie’s leadership though.

Teen Titans (Volume 3) #93
Written by J.T. Krul
Art by Nicola Scott

Now this is more like it! The Titans travel to India to search for Solstice’s missing parents. Solstice is interesting as Krul seems to be setting her up as anti-Raven – a magical character that is bright instead of dark. He also sets up Kid Flash crushing on her – much as his predecessor Wally had a crush on Raven back in the day. I didn’t mind Tim taking over leadership as long as it was something that Cassie wanted. Great stuff. When Krul took over the book was returning to greatness, now I think it has officially returned.

Super Speed

Superman #709
Written by J. Michael Straczynski and Chris Roberson
Art by Eddy Barrows and Allan Goldman

 

This was a cute little meet up with the Flash that allows Roberson to explore super speed and further the plot about the strange things that have arrived on earth from New Krypton. I enjoyed it. Although the whole thing makes me miss the days when Wally was the default Flash instead of Barry.

The Superboy-Kid Flash Race

Superboy (Volume 4) #5
Written by Jeff Lemire
Art by Pier Gallo

 

Anybody notices Superboy calls Beast Boy Garth instead of Gar? Come on DC Editors! Anyways, the Kid Flash/Superboy race was a lot of fun and it was great to see them being heroes on the way across the globe. The winner was Krypto which was kind of a cop-out (we all know Kid Flash would win) but oh well. Fun issue that managed to further the main plot as well.

Red Robin 19 and 20

Red Robin #19
Written by Fabian Nicieza
Art by Marcus To

 

Tim fights the Unternet in its own virtual world in this issue (By the way I love his alternate costume) and one of the things he uses is a program representing Cassandra Cain! Nice job of course Tim would think of the greatest of Batgirls to defeat a threat. God I miss Cass being a regular member of the bat family!

Red Robin #20
Written by Fabian Nicieza
Art by Marcus To

Red Robin fights off Catman and call in the Teen Titans to go after the Calculator – who has robots now. Okay what the hell – I am so sick of the Calculator! Let’s get some other villains he is in Batgirl, Birds of Prey, and now here! Enough with this guy!

A Break Up

Teen Titans (Volume 3) #91
Written by J.T. Krul
Art by Nicola Scott

 

Still loving Krul and Scott on this book but this was the weakest issue yet, I felt like it went by too fast and I was disappointed to see Wonder Girl and Superboy break up. I suppose some drama between them was needed though but if he gets with Lori Luthor over in his own book that would be just wrong.

Superboy 3 and 4

Superboy (Volume 4) #3
Written by Jeff Lemire
Art by Pier Gallo

A boy from the future calling himself Psionic Lad shows up at Smallville High causing havoc and asking Superboy for help but the best part of this issue has to be the talk between Connor and Bart: I think a Superboy/Kid Flash race is a great idea.

Superboy (Volume 4) #4
Written by Jeff Lemire
Art by Pier Gallo

 

Spoiler Warning…….I knew Psyonic Lad was too good to be true. I wonder what his real story is? Or perhaps Superboy is the evil dictator of Acropolis in the future? The stuff with Lori Luthor is well…she is related to him I mean that’s gross and I really hope DC doesn’t go there.

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!

The Titans Renaissance

Teen Titans (Volume 3) #90
Written by J.T. Krul
Art by Nicola Scott

 

Yup the Renaissance of Teen Titans is still going strong as the Titans travel to a high school filled with students effected by some guy giving them Meta powers – and the high school gets buried underground and they are all trapped inside. Yes, it is that awesome and pretty much the perfect plot for this book. At this juncture, I could see Krul’s run surpassing even the Johns run. It’s that good and Nicola Scott is also a huge part of that. Great art.

Christmas With Supergirl

Supergirl (Volume 5) #59
Written by Sterling Gates
Art by Jamal Igle

Gates and Igle end their critically praised run on this title with this issue and I think they ended it all quite nicely by kind’ve stopping that Cat Grant hating Supergirl thing after Cat is saved by Supergirl from Dollmaker (who is an incredibly creepy little guy) and showing a nice Christmas with the Superman family of characters at the end. Kara has come along way since Gates took over and I think history will look back on his run very fondly.

Trapped In Her Vines

Superboy (Volume 4) #2
Written by Jeff Lemire
Art by Pier Gallo

 

Another fantastic issue of this book. Lemire’s Superboy is much better than Johns’s Adventure Comics run with him because it doesn’t focus on the whole Lex Luthor thing and has a Connor Kent who has moved past this. I liked Poison Ivy in this, I think she works best as a villain, if a somewhat likeable one, and she is definitely a villain here caring very little for the life of an innocent farmer. I wonder if they will show Superboy bring her to Gotham next issue? That would be cool. Simon Valentine is becoming a rather interesting sidekick for Superboy too and the smallville-hating villains at the end were intriguing.

Titans Pariah

Teen Titans (Volume 3) #89
Written by J.T. Krul
Art by Nicola Scott

 

Robin joins the Titans and right from the get-go we can see he is not Tim Drake. He seriously screws up their mission in this issue because of his impulsiveness and not listening to orders even I was pissed at him. And I have started to like Damian too! That being said, I don’t know if Krul has Damian’s voice down just yet. There is something about the way he talks that seems different then usual. I don’t know. I still like the issue and Scott’s art is great and the team is awesome – this is the best this book has been in years!

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!

Welcome To Smallville

Superboy (Volume 4) #1
Written by Jeff Lemire
Art by Pier Gallo

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this series. I haven’t really enjoyed Lemire’s Atom co-feature in Adventure but that is probably more cause Ray Palmer is boring cause I gotta say I enjoyed the heck out of this debut issue. I’d even say it was better then any of Geoff Johns’s Adventure run with Superboy. Lemire sets up a mystery and the supporting cast of Superboy quite well at the same time featuring two supervillains and some great character moments. Gallo’s art is great too. I hope that they aren’t setting up Lori Luthor as a love interest…that’s just weird. And it was great to see Superboy use his tactile telekinesis again!

The Teen Titans Are Back!

Teen Titans (Volume 3) #88
Written by J.T. Krul
Art by Nicola Scott

 

Wow! I had high hopes for Krul and Scott taking over this book and returning to its former glory. They exceeded my hopes in one issue! I loved every moment of this issue as Krul demonstrated with each and every character that he understands them and at the same times introduced new storylines in their lives. From Superboy and Wonder Girl’s relationship to Beast Boy and Raven’s to Ravager’s search for her mother to Kid Flash’s retention of things learned in the future I can’t wait to read more issue of this book. Scott’s art is beautiful to look at and she knows how to tell a story perfectly. The Teen Titans are back! Heck I am even excited to see Damian on the team! Not only does Krul start a new exciting run, he doesn’t ignore Henderson’s run either and even tells us that Aquagirl and Bombshell are alive and well. Fantastic start for this new creative team!

Lost At Sea

Teen Titans (Volume 3) #87
Written by Felecia D. Henderson
Art by Jose Luis
Co-Feature by Rex Ogle
Art by Ted Naifeh

 

Felecia D. Henderson ends her run on the book as the team defeats the Wyld and is left significantly smaller in the wake of Aquagirl and Bombshell being lost at sea (I liked them both and I am sad to see them gone from the team), Static left powerless and returning to Dakota, and Miss Martian in recovery. I was worried that Dc was going to kill them off so I am glad to see them all being given better reasons to leave the team then death. Miss Martian and Aquagirl both play a role in Brightest Day so we know they will be okay. As much flack as Henderson gets for her run, she vastly improved during her year on this book and you got to give her credit for that. I look forward to see what her Static ongoing will be like. The coven of three back-up ended with a team actually forming, but the three of them secretly very angry with each other or being liars. At least that wasn’t what I was expecting. I hope to see more about this coven in the future.

Thought Bubbles

Teen Titans (Volume 3) #86
Written by Felecia D. Henderson
Art by Jose Luis
Co-Feature by Rex Ogle
Art by Ted Naifeh

More awkward dialogue from Henderson here but she has certainly improved a lot. It is nice to see the use of though bubbles in a comic too. I have no idea what is going on with Dr. Barnes but I am intriqued and I am hoping that Bombshell and Aquagirl will be okay.  The back-up was still good as the trio ends up in hell. I liked the mention of Kid Devil…it seems like the Titans have forgotten they recently lost a dear friend and member of the team but Zachary Zatara certainly hasn’t. Although I wonder what he meant about Eddie’s soul.

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?