Powerful

Zatanna (Volume 2) #6
Written by Paul Dini
Art by Jesus Saiz

Just how powerful is Zatanna anyways? In this issue she turns a man’s soul into an inanimate object? That is God-like Spectre powers there right? Anyways, good issue I liked it a lot. What happened to the regular artist though? Dini developed the relationship between Zachary Zatara and his cousin really well here too and I hope he stays a part of this book.

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.

Mystic Roofie

Zatanna (Volume 2) #5
Written by Paul Dini
Art by Chad Hardin

 

How does Dini keep telling compelling stories about Zatanna? A character so powerful I don’t know how anyone tells stories about her but Dini tells great ones. In this issue Zatanna is given a love potion so that the Las Vegas club owner guy can sell her soul to the devil – I like how Zatanna refers to it as a “Mystic Roofie” haha. The best parts of this issue are the moments between Zachary and Zatanna as they discuss their history and how very often Zach has been hurt by his older cousin who never comes to his shows. Great relationship development between two characters who we never really have seen interacting before this series…it was about time.

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.

Vegas Magic

Zatanna (Volume 2) #4
Written by Paul Dini
Art by Chad Hardin

Zatannna travels to Las Vegas and meets up with her cousin and a strange billionaire with a talking picture. In the end, she gets attacked by some crazy fire demons. Gotta love this book! Hardin was also a perfect fill-in artist as I liked his art a lot and it works nicely here. I don’t know why Dini has not been writing Gotham City Sirens lately, but at least this book is Dini-rific. I look forward to seeing more of Zachary Zatara as he makes a great sidekick to Zatanna.

Titans In Trouble

Teen Titans (Volume 3) #85
Written by Felicia D. Henderson
Art by Jose Luis
Co-Feature by Rex Ogle
Art by Ted Niafeh

 

Everything is going to hell for the Teen Titans as they fight this Wyld guy (who I still don’t even get is) and his crazy evil planet. The dialogue is corny as usual but I didn’t hate the issue like I do sometimes. Hendeson seems to be getting better as she goes along. I am actually worried for some of these characters here.  The back-up continues to be rather good – although I don’t really like how Zatara is drawn as if he is Asian. Loved all the magic stuff.

Action 889 and 890

Action Comics #889
Written by Greg Rucka and Eric Trauttman
Art by Jose Perez
Co-Feature by James Robinson
Art by Cafu

 

The main story ends Rucka and Trautmann’s run on the book by having Chris and Thara defeat the false Rao. It was a kind of a wimper of an ending. I have to say that I have grown to like these two characters as they have starred in this book – but not enough to really miss them. I like the mythology of it all but I think it is just time to move on. The finale to the Captain Atom back-up was more exciting as Mirabai is defeated and Captain Atom’s reputation restored. I really thought this back-up was a neat idea all-around and I’d say it was successful.

Action Comics #890
Written by Paul Cornell
Art by Pete Woods

Wow that was unexpected. I wasn’t sure what to think when I heard Lex Luthor would be the new star of Action Comics but damn this was awesome. Lex is an evil bastard and Cornell writes him that way. He has an employee killed just for embarrassing him, he builds a robot Lois to be his companion haha, and he is obsessed with finding the secrets to the Power Rings. Great start!

Hey, Pretty Art!

Teen Titans (Volume 3) #84
Written by Felecia D. Henderson
Art by Jose Luis
Co-Feature by Rex Ogle
Art by Ted Naifeh

 

Henderson’s writing isn’t half bad when teamed with a good artist like Luis. I actually enjoyed this issue – and that is saying a lot considering how bad the last few issues have been. The best moments had to be with Aquagirl and Bombshell waiting it out in the ocean – and wow does Luis draws a beautiful oceanscape. I love how he draws Wonder Girl too. Wonder Girl is right to be annoyed with Superboy acting like she is his girlfriend in the field because it undermines her authority as leader. So far not bad for this arc, although it is a little too late for Henderson as the writer of this book. At least she started off her last arc on the book well. In the Coven back-up, all the dreams of Zachary Zatara, Black Alice, and Traci 13 are coming true and Traci and Zatara are trying to put things back to how they really were – but Black Alice doesn’t want to. So far this co-feature has been really good and I look forward to see where it leads.

The Coven Betters The Titans

Teen Titans (Volume 3) #83
Written by Felicia D. Henderson
Art by Jose Luis
Co-Feature by Rex Ogle
Art by Ted Naifeh

 

With all the poor dialogue and abrupt changing of scenes, one thing can be said about Henderson is that she utilizes all the Titans effectively and their powers. I appreciate that. Otherwise, yes this is awful dialogue. The sad thing is the plot is not bad, she should be a plotter just maybe not a writer. Superboy and Aquagirl is interesting….I can’t see Cassie and Connor officially breaking up. Blue Beetle is gone with this issue I guess. Anyways, I guess we are just killing time till Krul begins his run on this book. Luckily, the new back-up was just awesome! I was excited for this new team of teen magic heroes – but I didn’t expect it to be this good! I can’t wait to see Black Alice, Traci 13, and Zatara team up! Speaking of Traci 13, up until this issue I always found the character to be boring. Nice job Ogle!

Attack Of The Starheart

Justice League of America #45
Written by James Robinson
Art by Mark Bagley

 

I am sorry but anyone who hates on this book should be beaten. This is a hundred times better then Meltzer or McDuffie’s runs. Robinson utilizes the DC Universe to the fullest and brings in characters and concepts you would never expect. I love it! Dick is the perfect leader for the League and I love Starman and Congorilla and Donna’s happiness. I wonder how long before Jade realizes that Batman isn’t Bruce? She doesn’t know yet right? Robinson does an excellent job of explaining the history of the starheart…although I never knew that it was sentient I do not think. This could be very interesting. I like how he said the Guardians bottled up Black Energy with Green to create the starheart so that is why Obsidian and Jade have different powers. Supergirl’s fight with Power Girl was probably not needed…it seems like they are always fighting and I do not know that I necessarily want her on the team, but I don’t dislike the idea of her joining either. This was great stuff and I can not wait to see where it goes next. Oh and Bagley’s art is pretty great here too.

Short Reads

Action Comics #888
Written by Greg Rucka and Eric Trauttman
Art by Pere Perez
Co-Feature by James Robinson
Art by Cafu

 

Both features in this issue seemed to be quick short reads to me. I liked all of the other heroes showing up to help fight the false Rao and all of the stuff with Pakistan and India. That was smart storytelling but I wish more happened and the debut of the mythical Nightwing wasn’t as cool as I expected it to be. I enjoyed it but I wasn’t overly excited about it. The back-up featuring Captain Atom was just a little battle with the forces of Mirabai – nothing exciting happened and this usually the best part of this book.

International And Interdimensional Incidents

Action Comics #887
Written by Greg Rucka and Eric Trauttman
Art by Pere Perez
Co-Feature by James Robinson
Art by Cafu

 

This issue shows just how in touch Lois is with the superhero community as she gets flown across borders by her connections. Flamebird and Nightwing try to fight the new “False Rao” but ultimately Nightwing gets thrown back into the Phantom Zone. Will this be his final fate? Not sure but I look forward to finding out. Rucka does not write any part of the co-feature which is rather strange since he isn’t doing Last Stand of New Krypton either. I don’t want to start rumors but could there have been some kind of falling out with him and Robinson? Or is Rucka just not interested in the Superman stuff anymore? Who knows? The back-up was short and sweet as Captain Atom goes through Skartaris and into Sorcerer’s World to take on Mirabai.

Epic Mystery

Superman #692
Written by James Robinson
Art by Fernando Dagnino

I like that Ryan Choi is being mentioned in two books this week! At least DC isn’t completely ignoring him for the boring Ray Palmer. This was a spectacular issue in my opinion. I love how Robinson rings in obscure characters and plays with the DC Universe so well. When he writes, he uses continuity and characters very effectively. There were a lot of developments here. Mon-El is alive (shocking – not really) but the Guardian, thinking he is dead, gives aways Mon-El’s secret identity. I also like the developents with Zatara. What is this power source they are talking about? What is Mirabai up to? This is truly an epic mystery. I don’t think we are even close to having all the answers.

Cohesion

Superman #690
Written by James Robinson
Art by Pere Perez

There has been a lot said at how Robinson isn’t telling one cohesive story in this series and it jumping too much all over the place. I think the people who already thought that will be utterly convinced by this issue, which seemed to to have a to be continued in a different comic on every page. I am a fan of the DC Universe so it doesn’t bother me but I imagine others wouldn’t be so pleased. The guest artist is decent but I miss Guedes already. There didn’t seem to be much cohesion in this story and it was jarring, even for me. But I still Robinson makes great use of the DCU by referring to obscure characters like Mark Merlin – who even I have never heard of.

Connected

Superman #687
Written by James Robinson
Art by Renato Guedes

I read a review of this issue somewhere that said it was just a bunch of disconnected scenes. I don’t agree with that assessment at all. Robinson is building all of these seemingly disconnected scenes to something huge. You can tell he has had long-rang plans for this book for a while as he even follows up on threads all the way from his first arc. Black Lightning is in Metropolis apparently (which seems to be breaking the rules of the Outsiders about total dedication to the team but I digress) and on the cover he is flying? What the hell? I love how Robinson is really using the character of Metropolis, we even get to see their sewers and Steel and Atlas talk about street nicknames and neighborhoods. It’s really great stuff and any fan of the DC Universe knows the best thing about it is is its fictional cities. I still have yet to understand why Mon-El joined the science police, still seems as uninteresting as when Wonder Woman joined the Department of Metahuman Affairs.

New Roster

Teen Titans (Volume 3) #69
Written by Sean McKeever
Art by Allan Goldman and Yildiray Cinar

Miss Martian returns from the Dark Side Club with a bunch of teen heroes this issue. And in the end, the new line up consists of Wonder Girl, Aquagirl, Bombshell, Static, Kid Eternity, Miss Martian, Blue Beetle and the powerless Red Devil. I am excited for this new line up. McKeever is leaving this book (He is only credited with the original story of this issue) and I hope they put a new writer on for long term who can really develop this team and keep them together for a while. No more roster changes for now! Aquagirl is drawn strange in this. She is looking less and less latino. I like the budding frienship between her and Static though.

Success

Action Comics #873
Written by Geoff Johns
Art by Pete Woods

This is the final part of the ten part New Krypton storyline that began in the New Krypton Special, then continued here, then in the Guardian Special, then here, here, here, here, here, and here. I read a lot of reviews saying that this wasn’t a true ending or satisfying ending. I think it was. I mean Kandor has left earth and established a New Krypton. It is the end of this arc. This is serial storytelling people, there are never going to be true endings as if this is a complete work! I just don’t get the complaining about the ending. Anyways, I absolutely adored this issue. Every moment inspired awe and wonder in a way that any big story like this should. While I like Final Crisis, this is more of an event book then that. The ending with Superwoman was completely unexpected and I look forward to all the story possibilities that have come out of this arc. I may have been hard on some parts of this storyline, but overall, and especially this issue, it was a tremendous success.