Order And Chaos

Justice League of America #47
Written by James Robinson
Art by Mark Bagley
Co-Feature by Robinson
Art by Pow Rodix

 

This is part 3 of the JLA/JSA crossover that began here and continued here. Oh hell ya Kyle Rayner shows up here! It is great to see him in a JLA book again and they even use his old Green Lantern Logo text! That brought joy to my fanboy heart. As for the entire issue, I felt like the plot didn’t move as quick as it could have and we are at a kind of stand still. I wonder why Doctor Fate is the one holding the JSAers hostage and not the starheart? The narraration boxes also got kind of annoying in this issue where they haven’t bothered me the last few. Maybe Robinson is overdoing them a bit. This story is still as epic and fun as a JLA book should be though and I can’t wait for the next chapter. The back-up actually ties into the main story as now that Red Tornado has been remade nearly indestructibel by Cyborg, he is effected by the starheart. (I mean he is an elemental of the Wind – of course he would be effected, I am surprised I didn’t think of that before)

The Epic Continues

Justice Society of America #41
Written by James Robinson
Art by Mark Bagley

 

This is part 2 of the JLA/JSA crossover that began here. Part 2 of this epic was just as awesome as the first. Once again Robinson utilizes the DC Universe to the fullest by bringing in obscure characters and such who would have been effected by the starheart. This is a lot of fun and I am having a blast reading it. Bagley’s art is gorgous, it is definitely the best work he has done at DC. I liked how Robinson even had the all-stars appeared because it was beginning to look like the main group never checked up on the all-star group. And the little tidbits such as a meta-ranking scale Mr. Terrific refers to called the “Hoshi scale”. Probably named after Doctor Light. Brilliant. The only thing I thought was strange was the flirtation between Lightning and Mr. America. Isn’t Lightning underage? Weird. It was also great to see Miss Martian and I loved how scary she was in her white Martain form. I can’t wait for the next part!

Shield 9 and 10

The Shield #9
Written by Eric Trautmann
Art by Marco Rudy
Co-Feature by Brandon Jerwa
Art by Michael Avon Oeming

The Shield teams up with the JSA in this issue as Baron Gestapo and new villain Dragonfly attack Happy Harbor. Having him team up with the JSA seems so obvious I am surprised I never thought about it. This was pretty good and it makes me sad the book is ending. I could see The Shield as a member of the JSA. The Fox gets his superhero name in the back-up but decides to give up being Tokyo’s hero only to find his girlfriend murdered. It was rushed but this back-up is still very strong, especially when compared to the previous Inferno back-up.

The Shield #10
Written by Eric Trautmann
Art by Marco Rudy
Co-Feature by Brandon Jerwa
Art by Michael Avon Oeming

Baron Gestapo is defeated along with Dragonfly in the final issue of this series. It is too bad that the Mighty Crusaders isn’t going to be an ongoing because I think it would be more successful then these solo books. I hope the Shield sticks around in the DCU as it has been fun following his adventures. In the Fox back-up the Dragon’s Head is defeated and the mentor is revealed as a villain, it looks like the Fox will be returning to America after this – perhaps as a Mighty Crusader. This was a great back-up.

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!

Happy Ending

Justice Society of America #40
Written by Bill Willingham
Art by Jesus Merino

 

The timeline is restored in this uplifitng issue. Willingham has Mr. Terrific warn the team of the coming attack by the fourth Reich and Obsidian is restored. I loved the moment where he jokes that he is “cured” of being gay to his Dad and the reaction on his Dad’s face – priceless! I gotta hand it to Merino for that use of facial expressions. I like how everything was explained and now the timeline has Obsidian involved in fight with Mordru and we are finally brought to the present time and the start of the JLA/JSA crossover. This was great stuff and I hope Willingham returns as writer after the crossover because his run has been excellent so far. I loved the moment where Mr. Terrific gives the little girl the college fund! And it looks like he is now dating her mom.

This Is The Justice League I Have Been Waiting For!

Justice League of America #46
Written by James Robinson
Art by Mark Bagley
Co-Feature by Robinson
Art by Pow Rodrix

 

Before I get into the actual meat of the issue, I have to start off by saying I love how Robinson has Jade not knowing who Mr. America is…she calls him Patriot Hero Guy. If it was Meltzer or some other bad writer writing this, Jade would know who he was and his real name. Robinson understands that not all the heroes have to know each other and Jade was certainly dead when Mr. America debuted. Love it! And I love Robinson’s use of continuity pulling in obscure characters left and right. When you are playing in a sandbox like the DCU there is no reason NOT to do what Robinson is doing. So many writers do not get that. And wow was this an amazing issue! Action-packed and globe spanning – this reminds me of of Morrison’s JLA in so many ways. This is the League I have been waiting for since this series launched. I couldn’t be more impressed. Not only is it filled to the brim with action but Robinson gives personal moments to each character and really shows their different personalities and utilizes their different powers. Each of the Leaguers had shining moments I can’t really say what was my favorite. What a great start to this JLA/JSA crossover! The Cyborg and Red Tornado back-up was even good and I find the Red Tornado to be a total bore-fest!

All Is Well

Power Girl (Volume 2) #13
Written by Judd Winick
Art by Sami Basri

 

Well I have to say that as I suspected, the book still maintains good quality with Winick coming on. He knows how to write humor and balance it with action – he always has. He can be hit or miss – but he can do that and I have no idea why some people are so down on him as a writer. Basri’s art is also perfect for Power Girl – it is different from Connor but that doesn’t mean it is bad. This book recaps Maxwell Lord’s return and then wiping away the memory of his existence. It is written in such a way that it also recaps Power Girl’s history – I am not sure if the mind wipe worked on her – I think it did as she does forget the mission to find Lord. I think Lord himself is responsible for her company going bankrupt all of a sudden somehow. I was glad to see Terra wasn’t dropped from the book too. All is well for this series.

Rest In Peace Damage

JSA All-Stars #7
Written by Matthew Sturges
Art by Freddie Williams II
Co-Feature by Jen Van Meter
Art by Travis Moore

 

The main story focuses on Judomaster – a character who really hasn’t had a lot of focus. She is dealing with the death of Damage during Blackest Night – I liked it although it didn’t seem to be that different from the letter sent from beyond the grave stories told in comics past. It was great to see former Titans at Damage’s funeral – because DC seems to have forgotten that Damage was also a Titans at one point. I loved seeing Argent too! The Liberty Belle and Hourman back-up goes along with its Indiana Jones like themes – pretty good stuff.

Escape

Justice Society of America #39
Written by Bill Willingham
Art by Jesus Merino

 

For some reason I thought this was the conclusion of this arc but I guess not. This was all good as we check up on the heroes making their escape from the Nazis. It was cool to see grown up versions of our favorite heroes. The twist is that Mr. Terrific is going to use Obsidian to send a message back in time I guess we will see how it goes next issue.

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.

The Jade Meteor

Justice League of America #44
Written by James Robinson
Art by Mark Bagley

 

I still think it is mega-strange that they changed the line up after two issues. That is annoying but I do like the current line up and look forward to seeing Jade, Jesse Quick, and Supergirl join the team. Starman’s new look is hot and awesome! Much better then the long hair and trench coat thing he had going. It is great to see Donna Troy all happy. She needed this and I hope she stays in the League for a long time to come. I didn’t expect the meteorite to contain Jade considering she just was on Oa with Kyle how did she end up trapped in a meteorite? I guess we shall see. Robinson’s run continues to impress me.

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.

I Am Happy For Donna

Justice League of America #43
Written by James Robinson
Art by Mark Bagley

 

Not really sure why DC had certain members like Starfire and Mon-El join just to leave one or two issues later…kind’ve bad planning on their part but oh well I am enjoying Robinson’s run so far and this is no different. I loved to see Donna and Congorilla feeling so happy to be on the League! It’s refreshing to see someone be excited about it for a change. Donna needed to find her place somewhere and I like that Robinson is giving it to her. Please keep her around for a while. Did Donna always have a lasso though? I will have to look that up. I love that Starman is staying in the book and I think this cast really works so far. There was a lot of action and characterization – in fact really the perfect balance for the league. The narration boxes are utilized much better then Meltzer ever did and hey at least everyone has code names. There were some minor continuity troubles – this takes place after Blackest Night yet Green Arrow acts like J’onn and Aquaman are still dead. Not to mention Black Canary should have been in that flashback scene as well but those are just minor complaints in what was an enjoyable issue.

Return Of The Fourth Reich

Justice Society of America #36
Written by Bill Willingham
Art by Jesus Merino

 

The Fourth Reich from Johns’s run return to attack the Justice Society again in this issue, this time most of the villain team consisted of old Archie Comics villains which was a cool and a nice way of showing how the Archie characters have become a part of the DC Universe. I wonder about each of these characters as they are rather interesting villains. No I don’t think the future predicted will come to pass or that Alan Scott is really dead, but anyways, this was good stuff. Willingham’s run has been a blast so far!

Peace And Love

Wonder Woman (Volume 3) #41
Written by Gail Simone
Art by Chris Batista and Fernando Dagnino

 

Can I just say that Gail Simone should stay on Wonder Woman, give Morrison or Rucka a new Wonder Book and keep Simone here. She understands the character tremendously. Power Girl’s inner dialogue about Diana pretty much showed that. Wonder Woman is more then fighting (although she is a great fighter) she is inspirational and full of love. Power Girl needed to channel Diana in order to stop the hatred consuming Washington D.C. I hope these Crow Children come back soem day because they were some damn scary Wonder Woman villains. The scenes with Etta and Steve Trevor were very suspenseful and Diana saves the day once again! Great issue! Plus The Olympian finding the reincarnation of his lover again warmed by big gay heart.

Giant Green Hammer

Magog #6
Written by Keith Giffen
Art by Howard Porter

 

Magog shows how unlikable he is on every page of this comic where he fights the Justice Society and finally gets kicked off their team. Thank God! It was about time they booted this loser. I loved seeing Alan Scott smash him with a giant green hammer!

Fifty Issues And Still No Mention of Linda Danvers! Come On!

Supergirl (Volume 5) #50
Written by Sterling Gates
Art by Jamal Igle
Co-Feature by Helen Slater
Art by Cliff Chaing

 

The main feature of this book was Supergirl vs. Lana as Insect Queen. I liked that we fast forwarded a few days later and Supergirl is now a prisoner of the hive, and is rescued by Gangbuster and Doctor Light. But Kara takes down the Queen way too easily for a story that has been building for so long. I have a feeling this was rushed due to the New Krypton storyline which is kind of a shame. Kare’s reaction and anger toward Lana seems like her old self and that is kind of annoying so I don’t know how I feel about this issue just yet. The Helen Slater written back-up was a neat little look at the history of this Supergirl and I rather enjoyed it. But damn…I thought in 50 issues Linda Danvers, the previous Supergirl, could have been mentioned somewhere!