A Journey Inside Ragman

Shadowpact #8
Written by Bill Willingham
Art and Cover by Shawn McManus

This is by far one of the best series that DC is putting out and more people should be reading it. (I know I am going to be pissed on by the blogosphere for saying this, but yes, it is better than Manhunter) I really enjoyed this issue which focused mainly on Ragman. The ragman is not only a visually exciting character, but also a character with a really cool and exciting concept behind him. Willingham expresses this greatly when he has Ragman journey into his suit where his captured souls are. I think I would feel the same way that Ragman feels, he feels bad for these souls. But he is and I am convinced by the end of this issue that Ragman gives these souls redemption. He gives them all a second chance. I also loved the sequence where Ragman recognized all of the people in there. That reminded me a lot of the scene in “Chicago” where we are introduced to how all the women ended up in jail. I wonder if Willingham thought about that when he was writing this. The Shadowpact ends up defeating the Congregation at the end, because the Congregation makes a really stupid error. But they don’t seem like the smartest organization to begin with.

A Brand New Era For The Birds of Prey

Birds of Prey #100
Written by Gail Simone
Art by Nicola Scott, Doug Hazlewood, Paulo Sequiera and Robin Riggs
Cover by Jerry Ordway

It’s exciting to see a book like Birds of Prey reach its 100th issue, it is like the little engine that could. Gail Simone and Chuck Dixon before her have created a great series out of the adventures of Oracle and her agents. Here is to another hundred issues! This issue introduces a new era for the Birds, with Dinah leaving the team it looks like Oracle is turning the Birds into a who’s who of DC females as shown by the cover of this issue (which is great by the way.) It was fun to see all the lady super-heroes get their invitations into the Birds. But what about Gypsy, wasn’t she going to be a permanent member now? She is not even mentioned in this issue. Strange. While I enjoyed the main story, I enjoyed the back-up a lot more. I love how Dinah tells her life story to Sin. I am actually kindve excited to see that Dinah and Ollie might get back together, even though I know it has been hinted a million times in the past. Will their always be Black Canary back ups in this series? I guess time will tell but I certainly enjoyed this one. Fantastic milestone issue.