This Is The Land Of The Living…And You Are Trespassing

Secret Six (Volume 3) #18
Written by John Ostrander and Gail Simone
Art by J. Caliafore

 

The title of this post is a badass line coming from Amanda Waller to the Black Lanterns. Seriously Amanda Waller is not a woman you ever ever want to fuck with. Deadshot will probably regret shooting her in the chest at the end of this issue. This was good action-packed stuff but I am ready to get back to normal fun Secret Six issues without Black Lanterns and the suicide squad. Not that this little excursion was bad it’s just I want more focus on the six.

Fuck Hal Jordan – This is the Main Green Lantern Book!

Green Lantern Corps (Volume 2) #45
Written by Peter Tomasi
Art by Patrick Gleason

 

Tomasi gets these characters – despite having a huge cast of this book he knows the ins and outs of these characters – their strengths and their weaknesses and utilizes this in order to save Guy Gardner from being a Red Lantern. Kyle’s love and compassion for his friend that doesn’t allow him to give up no matter what, Soranik’s medical knowledge, Kilowog’s logic, and Mogo’s well planetary powers. This was great storytelling. I loved the moment where Mogo created Red and Green constructs of Guy’s life. I thought about my own life and seeing images of the good and the bad – what an emotionally powerful moment. The final page where they recite the oath as they return to earth was incredible! What a great issue!

Mind Control

Batman #696
Written by Tony Daniel
Art by Daniel

 

Daniel’s tremendous run on Batman continues here and he shows no sign of slowing down. He chooses to tell the story of this issue in flashback after Batman is found barely alive by Robin in Gotham Harbor. Apparently Penguin and Mad Hatter (Love the use of all the classic villains) have created a mind control “false-face” to control Batman and send him to kill Black Mask. Of course Dick doesn’t kill him but he learns of Black Mask’s plans and has a crazy adventure. I have a feeling Black Mask is either the mayor or Jeremiah Arkham as he speaks about his “office” here. I am really starting to like the character of Kitrina Falcone – Daniel has stated in interviews that she is here to stay and I am glad that she is. This book is a lot better then Morrison’s Batman and Robin – everyone should be reading it!

All Seems To Be Going Well For Our Anti-Hero

R.E.B.E.L.S. #13
Written by Tony Bedard
Art by Claude St. Aubin

 

The final confrontation with Starro begins as Brainiac 3 betrays his master Starro and throws him in the hands of his father and the R.E.B.E.L.S.  This was a good issue if not a little too quick of a read. Despero gets his body back and all seems to be going well for our anti-hero Vril Dox but we shall see I guess.

Covert Team

The Shield #6
Written by Eric Trautmann
Art by Marco Rudy
Co-Feature by Brandon Jerwa
Art by Michael Gaydos

 

I have been a big fan of the art on this book, but this was definitely Rudy’s weakest issue. The panel lay-out was like he was evoking J.H. Williams III on Detective Comics except he is not Williams and it doesn’t work at all. I found it to be distracting and confusing as the reader of this issue. For the first time since this book began, I found the co-feature to be a much better experience. I liked the idea of a team of heroes forming under Halliday who are covertly working against him. Is this how the Mighty Crusaders get together? I guess time will tell.

Bye

Green Arrow & Black Canary #29
Written by Andrew Kreisberg
Art by Mike Norton

 

Norton’s art has been the lowpoint of this book for all of the Kreisberg run and it doesn’t really improve in what in what I think is Kreisberg’s last issue here. The art made the story muddled and confusing. Did Cupid revert to her normal state because she got shot with the arrow? Is Lt. Hilton now going to be Green Arrow’s Two-Face, but called Hilt? The final page of Speedy saying bye seemed appropriate as Star City is going to get phased into another dimension in Cry for Justice and this takes place before that mini, I imagine Speedy will be taking care of Lian while the city is in a different dimension. The months ahead should be more interesting for this title.

Kryptonian Mythology

Action Comics #886
Written by Greg Rucka and Eric Trauttman
Art by Pere Perez
Co-Feature by Rucka and James Robinson
Art by Cafu

 

I don’t have much to say about the main story – it was well executed and as a fan of mythology myself I love how Rucka and Trauttman are creating Kryptonian Mythology. I am not sure why Flamebird seems to have turned against Thara though, is she working with Jax-Ur? Maybe I missed something there. It was good stuff though. The Captain Atom co-feature was even more impressing. I have enjoyed every moment of this feature and in this issue once again Robinson shows how well he utilizes the DC Universe incorporating Skartaris, Shadowpact, and the many magical realms into the plotline. I loved it.

That Dreadful Shrew

Batgirl (Volume 3) #7
Written by Bryan Q. Miller
Art by Lee Garbett

 

I just LOVE Damian Wayne now hahaha he calls Stephanie a dreadful shrew in this and it sounds perfect coming from his little mouth! This was an action-packed and fun adventure story. Sadly, no Cassandra in this issue. I am hoping that she will be in the next issue or at least be mentioned. That being said, I can’t help but love Miller’s writing. It is not MY Batgirl, but I do like Stephanie Brown in this role even if I wish Cassandra Cain were still Batgirl more. The art and the story was top notch and every line the characters spoke was genuine and fun to read. Good issue.

Seven Million Lives

Booster Gold (Volume 2) #29
Written by Dan Jurgens
Art by Jurgens
Co-Feature by Matthew Sturges
Art by Mike Norton

 

Booster arrives in Coast City at the hour of its death in this very suspenseful issue. You can just feel the tock clicking for the fictional city’s seven million inhabitants as you read this issue. The debate Booster has with the government agent from the future is a valid one and makes you think. Could Rip Hunter be right? Could seven million people need to die so history is not altered? I do not know but it’s interesting to ponder about such a question. Great stuff. The Blue Beetle back-up was a rushed finale.to the feature. It made me sad, why exactly is Blue Beetle not going to be in this title anymore again? Shouldn’t they wait to see how a trade paperback does before booting Jaime from the book? Oh well.

Power Girl Vs. The Douche With Horns

JSA All-Stars #3
Written by Matthew Sturges
Art by Freddie E. Williams III
Co-Feature by Jen Van Meter
Art by Travis Moore

 

The main story is actually pretty good. It was nice to see Power Girl kick Magog’s annoying ass. This probably should have come out before the annual but oh well. I am getting used to Williams’s art, at least we had pupils this time around. I like that they are addressing Atom Smasher and Sandman, as well as we get to see quiet moments between the elder Hourman and his son. There are a lot of subplots in this book. People who stopped reading JSA books after Johns left really are missing out. The Liberty Belle and Hourman back-up was a decent read as well.

What A Twist!

Batman and Robin #8
Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Cameron Stewart

Whoa! How the hell did no one think of that? SPOILER ALERT!!!Of course it was a clone…the clones of Batman Darkseid was trying to create. That was the body that Superman found during Final Crisis. So Dick just brought an insane clone of Bruce back to life! What a twist!!! I am not sure what is going on with Batwoman exactly and there was a little too much channel zapping in this which Morrison is fond of but readers can not stand but still what a twist! This was a great issue, great art, great twist, and I loved the moments between a crippled Damian and Alfred.

Killing Time

Titans (Volume 2) #22
Written by J.T. Krul
Art by Angel Unzueta

 

Hmmm…Krul continues his great characterization of the Titans. He certainly gets these characters but I am not sure we needed another issue of Starfire pondering whether she should join the Justice League. And what’s with Beast Boy saying he is the leader of the Teen Titans, when it’s pretty clear Wonder Girl is leader. Maybe he is just saying that? Or this is before Cassie fully takes charge? Anyways, they are just killing time for Wallace to take over the book. Why is it taking so long?

All The Powers Of Superman

Adventure Comics #510
Written by Tony Bedard
Art by Travis Moore

Ummmm Bedard could have taken over this series for all I care because this was a great issue! Bedard shows he knows the character of Connor Kent inside and out by recapping his history while moving the story forward. This was by far the best Blackest Night tie-in yet. We get to see lots of action and great characterization at the same time. The strong love between Wonder Girl and Superboy and their training to make sure Connor is never mind controlled again (Nice use of continuity by the way, I would never have thought of that) allows for Superboy to escape from the Black Lantern ring. The art was fabulous as well. Oh and Superboy gets freeze-breath finally! Now he has all the powers of Superman. I kinda liked it when he was all about the tactile telekinesis but this is okay too.

Celebrating Ten Years of Batgirl: Azrael 61 – Batgirl’s First Christmas

Over at my new blog, I have added my look at Batgirl’s next appearance in Azrael: Agent of the Bat #61. All of the Batgirl retrospectives will be over at the new Blog to make room for the reviews here. Go check it out! It is a wonderful heart-warming issue.

Goofy And Strange But It Works

Batman Confidential #41
Written by Sam Keith
Art by Keith

Despite the goofy designs (I mean look at Gordon’s hair) and strange anatomy of Keith’s art, he still manages to tell a spooky and good Batman tale. Sure it is not finished quite yet, but I am rather enjoying it so far. We don’t get any further clue as to who “The Ghost” is other then it could be a cop. But if it is, how does it know so much about Batman and Callie? I do not know and I look forward to learning more.

You Killed Her For Me…You Crazy Bitch

The Atom And Hawkman #46
Written by Geoff Johns
Art by Ryan Sook and Fernando Pasarin

This was a really awesome “resurrected title” issue. Yes, it was more Atom then Hawkman but I think it was still a good fit. It would have been nice to see Ryan Choi but whatever, we got to see a lot more of the Indigo Tribe and how their power works. I loved what Ray said to Jean about the murder of Sue Dibny (Hence the title of this post) and Johns does a great job of acknowledging the history of the Atom. Good stuff.