Forced Split

Justice Society of America #33
Written by Bill Willingham and Matthew Sturges
Art by Jesus Merino

The team splits into two teams this issue after defeating the villains who attacked and destroyed the Brownstone. I still feel the split is forced even though the JSA did fail at this mission. All-American Kid turns out to be the evil villain Kid Karnevil which was a cool twist. We still don’t know who was behind the attack from the villains or why Kid Karnevil wanted Obsidian in egg-form so this really wasn’t a conclusion, but it was a fun ride, even if the split seems forced. But the question still remains: where the fuck are Atom Smasher, Sandman, and Jakeem Thunder?!

Who Is The Mystery Villain?

Justice Society of America #32
Written by Bill Willingham and Matthew Sturges
Art by Jesus Merino

I have a feeling that All-American Kid is going to die, which sucks because I liked him but I guess that just shows that Willingham and Sturges are good writers and character creators. Mr. Terrific is definitely going to be back as his body is being held in stasis. This was by far the best issue of the Willingham and Sturges run so far. Power Girl acts more like a chairwoman then she did even under Johns’s pen. Things do go from bad to worse as everything catastrophic does keep happening. Chimera is shown to be an incredibly powerful character in this issue but I know he is not behind anything. Whoever is behind this is someone who knows the JSA well and he or she is doing a really good job at destroying them. I am looking forward to seeing how this concludes.

A Terrific Death

Justice Society of America #31
Written by Bill Willingham and Matthew Sturges
Art by Jesus Merino

It was nice to see Power Girl actually acting like the chairwoman and barking orders – even if it was just to stop a fight between Magog and Wildcat. Mr. Terrific’s death really wouldn’t effect me either way. I have never really liked the character and thought he was completely overused. But I doubt that he is dead – for good at least. I am beginning to like All-American Kid. I believe that he is being sincere and I hope he sticks around. Still no sign of Jakeem Thunder or Atom Smasher. I hope that Willingham and Sturges haven’t just forgotten them. Merino is on top of his game in this issue and proves he is a worthy successor to Eaglesham. Magog is still a big jerk and completely unlikeable. I am looking forward to seeing who is behind all this.

Splitting In Half

Justice Society of America #30
Written by Bill Willingham and Matthew Sturges
Art by Jesus Merino

This issue sees some debate in the team about whether or not they should go after the bad guys or check in on Mr. Terrific who isn’t answer his commlink. In the end this leads to a fight between Wildcat and Magog. Magog is acting like a jerk and I really hope the split that is going to happen with this team isn’t one where people follow Magog and others follow Wildcat because I know these characters know better then that. I hope it’s a peaceful split. I am glad they are splitting the team because Willingham and Sturges haven’t shown that they are very good at showing the whole team. I mean we still haven’t even seen Sandman, Atom Smasher, or Jakeem Thunder since their run began. I also don’t buy the idea that the villains would be all afraid of the new Doctor Fate. I mean Doctor Fate isn’t more powerful then all of the JSA combined? I guess I am having a hard time believing that this group of villains would even be able to take down the JSA without Doctor Fate. But complaints aside, I did like this issue and I am enjoying their run so far.

Rich White Guy…Just Sayin’

Blue Beetle (Volume 6) #34
Written by Michael Sturges
Art by Rafael Alburquerque

Doctor Polaris to Blue Beetle: Don’t You People Ever Stay Dead

Blue Beetle: Not Traditionally, no

Awesome. That was just one of fantastic lines in this issue of Blue Beetle. Another one had Blue Beetle saying that the guy responsible for all this was a rich white guy….just sayin’ Hahahaha fantastic. I loved it. Sturges seems to have such a liberal viewpoint it will be interesting to see how he works with Willingham on JSA. As for the story itself, it was pretty to-the-point Blue Beetle defeats Doctor Polaris (He faked his death last issue) and Brenda and Paco finally decide to start dating. This series is wrapping up, but there hasn’t been a drop in quality.

Ingesting Monopoles

Blue Beetle (Volume 6) #33
Written by Matthew Sturges
Art by Rafael Albuquerque

Now I am guessing Jaime is not actually as dead as he seems at the end of this issue. The only evidence we have for its actuality is that the scarab says he is dead. But I don’t think DC would kill Jaime in such a non-heroic way; a cheap shot by the new Doctor Polaris. Plus there are three issues left of this series. Brenda and Paco’s talk while being held captive was hilarious and really shows how Sturges really understand these characters. The Teen Titans guest star and it didn’t seem forced at all; especially considering Blue Beetle is now a Titans himself. It was pretty cool to see Jaime yell Titans Together and Sturges even manages to maintain the relationship Jaime has with Red Devil over in the Teen TItans book. I am not sure if Monopoles are an actual thing, I will have to look that up. Not to mention I doubt that Doctor Polaris could just ingest such a thing, but that is comics for you. And the title of this post is unintentionally dirty….awesome.

JLA 13 – 26

Justice League of America #13
Written by Dwayne McDuffie
Art by Joe Benitez

When I first read this issue, I was a little turned off. I guess I expected more from the first issue of McDuffie’s run and I certainly expected better art. But now I think this was a pretty good read and did remind me a lot of the TV show. Good start, and at least much better then anything Meltzer did on this title. I think the Injustice League is very cool and I like how they are opposite numbers of the League. Of the villains we have seen so far this is what the breakdown is.

Superman:

Lex Luthor
Parasite

Batman:
The Joker

Poison Ivy

Wonder Woman:
Cheetah

Firestorm:
Killer Frost

Hawkgirl:
Shadow Thief

Green Lantern:
Fatality

The Flash:
Gorilla Grodd

Black Canary, Vixen, Black Lightning, Red Arrow, Geo-Force, and Red Tornado are sadly without any villains yet.

Justice League of America #14
Written by Dwayne McDuffie
Art by Ed Benes

This is another good issue. The Injustice League is shown to have Cheshire and Shaggy Man in it’s ranks as well. Cheshire is a Red Arrow villain arguably (even if he has a kid with her) but Shaggy Man and Dr. Light are just general villains not specific to anyone.

Justice League of America #15
Written by Dwayne McDuffie Art by Ed Benes

The way Batman basically tells Firestorm that he has no choice, he has to join the Justice League was awesome! This concluded the Injustice League arc and it was good, but this arc as a whole would have been a whole lot better if someone else was doing the art.

Justice League of America #16
Written by Dwayne McDuffie and Allan Burnett
Art by Joe Benitez and Allan Jefferson

Eh….this issue was okay. It just served as a preview to two other mini-series’s which is kind of annoying. I would have rather had a story in this series that starts and ends in it.

Justice League of America #17
Written by Dwayne McDuffie and Allan Burnett
Art by Ed Benes and Joe Benitez

Haha the main story I could care less about. It was lame and had awful art. But the back up written by McDuffie was good because McDuffie comments on the fact that Meltzer’s whole Vixen is using the powers of the Justice League thing makes no sense. I love it! Take that Meltzer!

Justice League of America #18
Written by Dwayne McDuffie and Allan Burnett
Art by Ed Benes and John Boy Meyers

Meh….this was very decompressed and was basically filler. They could have cut this entire issue of the arc. But the back up was good.

Justice League of America #19
Written by Allan Burnett
Art by Ed Benes

Thank god this arc is over because it was not very good. It just served as a sidestory to another mini-series! Whatever happened to this series having its own stories. Hawkgirl being so jealous over Cheshire is just stupid and seems completely forced. Also, I know Geo-Force was transferred to the Outsiders but you would think someone would have mentioned it for people who aren’t reading
the Outsiders. Instead, he just dissappears. That’s bad editing.

Justice League of America #20
Written by Dwayne McDuffie Art by Ethan Van Sciver

This was by far the best issue of McDuffie’s run so far. And you wanna know why, Ethan Van Sciver. Look at how much of a difference Ed Benes’s art makes with McDuffie’s writing. McDuffie is a good writer, but Benes’s art is soo bad that it is killing a good story. Anyways, this was a beautiful issue with a nice story with the Flash and Wonder Woman. I liked it a lot.

Justice League of America #21
Written by Dwayne McDuffie Art by Carlos Pacheo

This is a final crisis tie-in issue that is rather enjoyable. In fact, it was just as good as last issue. This book is sooo much better without Ed Benes. Please DC, get rid of him! Anyways, it made me happy to see that Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman were going to add Martian Manhunter back in the league before he died but the trinity is acting kind’ve elitist. Libra is a visually stunning character and I can’t wait to learn more about him in Final Crisis.

Justice League of America #22
Written by Dwayne McDuffie Art by Ed Bene

Unfortunately Bene is back this issue….with some ultra terrible art. He draws just one body type…it’s so annoying. Plot-wise, it was only okay. Red Tornado taken over by Amazo does NOT interest me, especially when the League already fought Amazo under Meltzer’s pen. The vixen subplot interests me more but not by much. I really can’t reccomend this issue.

Justice League of America #23
Written by Dwayne McDuffie Art by Ed Benes

While this may have not been a horrible issue if Ed Benes was not doing the art, it was horrible when comined with the art and the rather dull fight with Amazo that lasted the entire issue. Damn. And this series was finally getting good again.

Justice League of America #24
Written by Dwayne McDuffie
Art byAllan Goldman

Yay! Benes is gone again this issue. This made the fight with Amazo so much better but still rather dull. The best moments of this issue were at the end where they go to meet Animal Man. I did not even think of the vegatarian thing. I am intrugued as to where this is going.

Justice League of America #25
Written by Dwayne McDuffie
Art by Ed Benes, Ian Churchill, Doug Mahnke, Darick Robertson, Shane Davis, and Ivan Reis

This anniversary issue was rather good. I am happy to find Red Tornado leaving the team as I never really grew fond of the character. Also, Anansi seems like a great villain for the league to face. I like how he speaks and how he spins the webs of stories. I look forward to the next issue.

Justice League of America #26
Written by Dwayne McDuffie
Art by Ed Benes

Now this alternate reality issue of JLA is one of the best issues of McDuffie’s run. He can write some great stuff when he isn’t editorially mandated to do things. There were so many great moments. The Brown Bomber! LMAO. It was refreshing to see Vixen calling upon Animal Powers again and I have to wonder if Meltzer only had it go away because he was too lazy to look up animals to use (:. But the anansi thing did seem to end rather quickly. I bet McDuffie wanted it to be longer but then was told he had to do the whole Milestone crossover thing. Well at least this is a new arc I can look forward to, even if it is editorially mandated.

Blue Beetle 16 – 32

Blue Beetle (Volume 6) #16
Written by John Rogers
Art by Rafael Albuquerque

“Batman’s file on you is Eclipso Power: Sucking” Best line ever! This was a decent issue. I still am not a fan of the art in this series. I liked the Sue Dibny stuff though. Very powerful.

Blue Beetle (Volume 6) #17
Written by John Rogers
Art by Rafael Albuquerque

Now this was more like it! Jaime really thinks like a superhero here especially with the calling Bruce Wayne stuff. Very good issue.

Blue Beetle (Volume 6) #18

Written by John Rogers
Art by Rafael Albuquerque, David Balden, and Dan Davis

Haha well the art was distracting at first, but I got over it because this was a fun issue where Blue Beetle meets the Teen Titans. I love how Brenda calls them the Belly-Shirt Brigade and the comments about how they wear skirts. Just fantastic. Rogers writes a good Miss Martian too…I liked her one-liners.

Blue Beetle (Volume 6) #19
Written by John Rogers
Art by Rafael Albuquerque

This was an entertaining dealing with Brenda’s discovery of her aunt’s criminal side, and Blue Beetle fighting Giganta through her pressure points. Good stuff.

Blue Beetle (Volume 6) #20
Written by John Rogers
Art by Rafael Albuquerque

So is the Peacemaker dead? Looks like it since he ripped the Scarab out of his spine. This crossover with the Sinestro Corps War was good but extremely overrated in the blogosphere. It only mildly entertained me.

Blue Beetle (Volume 6) #21
Written by Justin Peniston
Art by Andy Kuhn

This Spectre filler issue was good as it dealt with themes of the death penalty and forgiveness. Very good stuff from a writer I have never heard of. The art didn’t seem different at all.

Blue Beetle (Volume 6) #22
Written by John Rogers
Art by Rafael Albuquerque

Rogers is a fantastic writer. He has been putting little clues into this series since the beginning. Jaime also shows his brilliance as a hero in this story. He is not a stupid kid by any means. Tovar’s story was very sad, and it makes you think about if all your memories were a lie as well. Best issue in a while.

Blue Beetle (Volume 6) #23
Written by John Rogers
Art by Rafael Albuquerque

Everything is going crazy and Rogers winds down his run and Blue Beetle comes face to face with the Reach. This stuff has been two years in the making and it is really exciting. I know for a fact that Jaime’s family is not dead, but I still felt for Jaime in this issue. And jeeze, having a scarab pulled out of your spine has got to hurt!

Blue Beetle (Volume 6) #24
Written by John Rogers
Art by Rafael Albuquerque

Even more shit hits the fan in this action-packed issue. I loved Blue Beetle’s make shift powerless costume and how it resembles Ted Kord’s old costume. Nice touch. This was an amazing issue. Probably the best of the entire series this far.

Blue Beetle (Volume 6) #25
Written by John Rogers
Art by Rafael Albuquerque

John Rogers has not only created a legacy for the Blue Beetle but created a great character and supporting cast that will go down as classic. Twenty-five issue of build up and it was all worth. Jaime finally defeats the Reach in this issue and it is fantastic. Read it – everything in the last twenty-five issues is build up to this, even things you thought were meaningless. I am going to miss him on this title but at least he went out on top. Brenda and Paco kiss and the scarab speaks English! Kaji Da!

Blue Beetle (Volume 6) #26
Written by Jai Nitz
Art by Mike Norton

What a good/cute story. In this all-spanish issue (which I had translated) Blue Beetle has a family reunion and fights the Parasite. In the end, he takes his Grandma for a flight.

Blue Beetle (Volume 6) #27
Written by Will Pfeiffer
Art by David Baldeon

This issue has Blue Beetle fighting a demon summoned by some dorky teenagers who find a spell book. Good stuff, and I like when Beetle works with Traci 13. Nothing really to write home about though.

Blue Beetle (Volume 6) #28
Written by Will Pfeiffer
Art by David Baldeon

This was another good story featuring a villain from the original Blue Beetle’s days named Doctor Mestopheles, and I love when this series does the legacy thing. Baldeon’s art is good and I wish he would stay on the series.

Blue Beetle (Volume 6) #29
Written by Matthew Sturges
Art by Rafael Albuquerque

This issue deals with illegal immigration. A topic that I am surprised it took twenty-nine issues for a series set in El Paso, Texas to get to. But I am glad it is being dealt with. Sturges begins his run with an intriguing story and it seems like he really gets the characters. In fact, I think I liked his pacing a little more then John Rogers’s pacing.

Blue Beetle (Volume 6) #30
Written by Matthew Sturges
Art by Rafael Albuquerque

Haha I loved the opening of this issue with Jaime trying to go all Dark Knight on La Dama. This was a fantastic second issue for Sturges’s run. He even has Jaime and friends go to a superhero mini-golf place. Oh to live in the DCU…..

Blue Beetle (Volume 6) #31
Written by Matthew Sturges
Art by Andre Coelho

Having Blue Beetle be conned into representing El Paso’s border patrol was genius storytelling as it will allow for some political commentary in this series. I am a liberal and I do believe that people who are anti-immigration are racist, it’s pure and simple. So I really liked this story. Doctor Mid-Nite’s appearence was perfect and not arbitrary at all. So far Sturges’s run has been really good. And Dr. Polaris’s appearence I bet will excite a certain blogger over at Title Undetermined.

Blue Beetle (Volume 6) #32
Written by Matthew Sturges
Art by Andre Coelho

This exciting issue explains the origin of the new Dr. Polaris, who I think was only created because some editor forgot he was dead and had him appear somewhere. I hate editors who don’t do their job, but at least we get a new character! I like that he comes from corporate America which makes him perfect for this storyline. A lot of great moments. People, you need to be buying this series!