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!

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.

Breaking In To Arkham

Gotham City Sirens #20
Written by Peter Calloway
Art by Andres Guinaldo and Ramon Bachs

 

After a so-so opening arc on this book, Calloway blew me away with this issue! Perhaps the best issue of this series so far – it details how Harley Quinn breaks into Arkham Asylum by using psychological manipulation on the guards and staff and inmates. She of course was once a therapist there and knows all their secrets. It really shows a cold and calculating side of Harley we rarely get to see and Calloway nails it. Hats off to Guinaldo and Bachs as well whose art really helps to tell the story beautifully. I really enjoyed this.

Action 897 and 898

Action Comics #897
Written by Paul Cornell
Art by Pete Woods

 

Lex goes to the Joker’s cell to find the black sphere there and have a little talk with the Clown Prince of Crime in this amazing look at the difference between the two DC mega-villains. Really everyone should read this issue because Cornell should definitely be writing the Joker more often.

Action Comics #898
Written by Paul Cornell
Art by Pete Woods

 

So the person controlling Lois-Bot is Brainiac. Hmmm interesting? I wonder what he wants and what Larleeze saw in the sphere that even he did not want that?? I was hoping they wouldn’t bring Brainiac back so soon but this should be interesting.

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.

Bruce is Back!

Batman and Robin #16
Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Cameron Stewart and Frazer Irving

 

Bruce Wayne is back everyone! Damn this issue was pretty much perfection. I loved everything about it as Batman is the character that brought me to comics I was so happy to see the return of my hero it such an awesome way. My favorite part was probably Bruce punching the Joker just as Joker was seemingly accepting that he was gone for good. The only real problem with this issue was probably the fact that the two art styles are so different, but it didn’t bother me all that much. The final scene has Bruce announcing to the world that he has been funding Batman for years and now plans to take Batman Incorporated global! I’d say that is the biggest change to the Batman world in many many years and I can’t wait to see where Batman goes from here.

A Tragic Villain

Detective Comics #870
Written by David Hine
Art by Scott McDaniel

 

Hine ends his short run on Detective here as the Imposter Joker and Imposter Batman is revealed to be Winslow Heath. His story is sad and even more sad now that it has been revealed that his girlfriend’s horrifying death is what drove him to this. I hope he shows up again somewhere.

Bat-God

Batman and Robin #15
Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Frazer Irving

 

Unless I am wrong about who this Bat-God is, the final moments of this issue were downright awesome for any Batman fan! This was an intense issue from the moments between Joker and Damian to Simon Hurt revealed to being taken in by the Waynes – the pieces are all starting (but not quite) to fit together. As much as it has given me a headache sometimes, I have a good feeling that the mystery of Simon Hurt will in retrospect will be one of the all-time greats in comics. Kudos to Morrison and Irving for a fantastic issue.

Damage

Superman #703
Written by J. Michael Straczynski
Art by Eddy Barrows

 

JMS’s Grounded tales is a lot better then I thought it would be and I love that he is incorporating the after effects of New Krypton and not just sweeping that story under the rug but I don’t know if I buy the argument about the potential damage being done as Superman walks across America. What is the difference between this and the damage done when people attack him in Metropolis? Nothing really. Anyways, I wonder what this New Krypton kryptonite does cause it seems to have possessed a school teacher and caused another guy to gain powers hmmm.

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.

Terrifying

Batman and Robin #14
Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Frazer Irving

 

Holy Shit does Irving draw a terrifying Joker. In fact, he draws a pretty terrifying Professor Pyg too. As a villain, Pyg is a great creation and I hope other writers will still use him after Morrison. Buy yes every scene is rather frightening in this as the villains are getting the upperhand. I love that the Joker is kind’ve on Batman and Robin’s side here – or at least kind of and I did not expect him to get Robin with the Joker toxin. This is by far the best this book has been yet and I am loving it.

Detective Comics 867 and 868

Detective Comics #867
Written by David Hine
Art by Scott McDaniel

 

I am not the biggest fan of McDaniel’s art and is it can be too zany and cartoony and take away from a story – but it worked pretty well here I’d say. The Jokerz are the kind of thing that McDaniel can do well. I never read a story about them before except I remember them from Batman Beyond as the imposter Joker gang. Here it seems like they have been in Gotham before so hmmm I wonder if they are not new to the comics. What makes this interesting is that was once a gang of practical jokers and vandals has suddenly become violent like the real Joker himself. Good stuff.

Detective Comics #868
Written by David Hine
Art by Scott McDaniel

The war between Guardian Bats and Jokerz become bloody and violent and things are getting crazy out of control. We learn the origin of the imposter Joker – a young man permanently disfigured by Joker venom years ago. He makes an interesting villain as he seems to be angry with Batman for never permanently getting rid of the Joker ala Jason Todd. This arc continues to surprise me with how good it is.

Stumped

 

Batman and Robin #13
Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Frazer Irving

Ummmm hmmm I have no idea what the hell is going on with all of this. Simon Hurt is claiming to be Thomas Wayne back from the dead, Robin is beating the crap out of the Joker, apparently Pyg led by hurt has poisoned the entire city with his addictive virus thing and someone has shot down the Batmobile. Irving’s creepy art works for this story I guess but I would have preferred something different I guess. I don’t know how I feel about all this just yet.

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.

Dumb Continuity Mistakes

Detective Comics #866
Written by Denny O’Niel
Art by Dustin Nguyen

 

This was a decent little one-shot story about Dick remembering his first encounter with the Joker and solving part of the mystery that was left unsolved from that night. It was okay. There were some major continuity issues that got on my nerves like for example Harvery Dent was already Two-Face by the time Dick became Robin in current continuity. This is something O’Niel and the editors should know. Dumb. Very dumb mistake. It pretty much ruined this issue for me but I loved the art and the style changes between past and present.

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.

Gotham’s Creepiest Couple

Detective Comics #865
Written by David Hine
Art by Jeremy Haun
Co-Feature by Greg Rucka
Art by Cully Hamner

 

The main story was prefectly creepy! I love good Arkham Asylum stories and the new pair of Jeremiah Arkham and Alyce Sinner will probably make stories in the future. Arkham is an inmate of the asylum now just like his ancestor – he even carves his intial into Zsas’s eyelid! But Alyce is now director of Arkham Asylum and she is equally insane and in love with Jeremiah Arkham! This was a great little story. The Question back-up comes to its conclusion and we are left with a cliffhanger. Odd, Rucka really must have left DC in a hurry but we are not told whether Renee Montoya has the mark of Cain now or not. I wonder if we will have to wait till Rucka comes back to DC or if The Question is too high profile to keep waiting for him. Hmmm. All Good Questions haha.