Comic reviews!

These have been a long time coming.  Minor spoilers for Gotham City Sirens 24 only.
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Supergirl 65 was absolutely great.  Really imaginative, inspired writing.  I am really looking forward to the rest of this arc, at which point I shall re-read it and bask in it's loveliness again.


Young Justice 5 - This is really good fun.  It's a smart, well put together comic for younger folk, but also easily enjoyable by us older folk.  This was Wally's issue, and it seems that Art Baltazar and Franco really get him.

Flashpoint: Green Arrow Industries 1 - Why oh why is Ollie so much fun and enjoyable in this than in his own ongoing?  If you're a Green Arrow fan I recommend you get this.  He's cocky, arrogant, sleeping around, and a bit rubbish as a fighter.  He's not that bright, but it's just perfect.  Oh, and there are trick arrows.  Just buy it already!

Wonder Woman 612:  Better than some of the earlier issues.  Although Aphrodite now appears to be a redhead.  Either this is a colouring mistake by or the team have decided to ignore centuries of tradition.  Gaaah.  Anyway, in my recent clear out of comics, I elected to keep this Wonder Woman run.  I think I do like it and it's definitely a keeper.  But I am getting seriously fucked off with this comic within a comic shenanigans that DC is pulling.

Gotham City Sirens 24: Harley gets back with Joker and Ivy is pretty much unambiguously outed as queer.  Awesomesauce!


Flashpoint Lois lane and the Resistance 1 - Stylised art that kinda reminded me of old Young Justice/Impulse comics.  This series will be a cracker I reckon.

JLA 58 - Every time I look at the cover I wonder why I'm still getting this series. Inside it's better, but it's not going to be a groundbreaking memorable run.

Flashpoint Kid Flash Lost 1 - Yeah, this was also good.  It was a 'setting stuff up' issue, with things happening.  I know, right?   Hey it's a Bart Allen mini, written by Sterling Gates.  I'm gonna love it.

Action Comics 902 - More enjoyable than JLA, but still mostly just ok.  The art is nice.  But I'm mostly hanging onto this for the relaunch.  There seems no point in cancelling now when it will all be shiny and new in two months.

Superman 712:  A story told from the point of view of Krypto.  Interrupting Grounded, this was much more enjoyable than Grounded.  Rather sentimental, but in a good way.

Green Arrow 13 - Ah, now we are out of Brightest Day the artist changes and the story gets interesting!  And of course now it will all change in two months.  Graaah.

DC Presents Impulse - Collecting Impulse 50 to 53, this was a wonderful breath of fresh air, and I think everyone should buy it.

In part,a love letter to Aquaman

Or comics reviews for last weeks books.

Supergirl and JLA were good.  Gotham City Sirens has this gorgeous cover which I would love to see as a poster:

Teen Titans had a proper story about Hindu deitys and myths and Solstice was centre stage.  There were some interesting things going on with Raven too.

But what I really want to talk about is Superman/Batman, which was the clear winner.

It's the third part of the Sorcerer Kings storyline, wherein Superman is snatched away to a hellish future where magic rules and the future Superman is dead.  The future JLA consists of Batman in an extremely home made costume, Klarion the witch boy (and a size changing Teekl), Jason blood, Stanley Dover and his monster (no I don't know who this person is either), Scream Queen and Aquaman!

So, about half of these are magic users.  The yellow sun no longer exists so Superman is powered by magic sun, giving him the ability 'think' his enemies away.  We will count him as magical too then.

The placement of Bruce in a magic rich environment is amusing, given how much he hates magic.  The art is superb.

The inclusion of Aquaman is what makes this issue stand out.  At last someone recognises Arthur as a heavy hitter!  Arthur now holds of all the souls of the Atlantean people in his body - it was the only way he could save them all. Surely this is what being a  King is about?  Preserving your state and your peoples at all costs?  Arthur's status as royalty is the most interesting thing about him, I think, and really is not exploited enough.

This issue was great.

Reviews!

Spoilers ahoy for Gotham City Sirens #21, Green Arrow #10, Wonder Woman #609, Teen Titans #93.
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Gotham City Sirens #21
Oh Harley.  This story arc has made me love her so much.  She's so often portrayed as 'just' a vapid lovestruck clown, but these last 2 issues have shown her as much more.  She's intelligent and resilient.

The artwork is spot on.  There's one double page with a white background where all the action takes place in panels formed in the shape of a nail (a nail is central to this particular story being told).  It''s really dramatic and unusual - I live seeing artists play around with unusual layouts.

Green Arrow #10
I'm still not caring for this series.  I know I liked issue 9, but this one leaves me cold again.  The one interesting part was Galahad's origins revealed - he is not a knight of Arthurian times, he is a literary scholar with an interest in the Arthur tales, and he decided he was Galahad when his daughter died.  I prefer this version of events.  It helped that this discovery was topped off with him jumping out a tree and knifing (swording?) Etrigan.

Wonder Woman #609
My disappointment with Dr Psycho being Diana's rescuer has now been alleviated.  His role has now become, as Di herself said in the issue, sweet if a little creepy.  This has been by far my most favourite issue in this new storyline.  For a start, there's tons of Dianas.  This issue made it clear that Wonder Woman (and Diana's soul) is central to the DC Universe and that she has always had a place in it.  It made sure she cannot be erased.  No matter what may happen to the timeline, there will always be Diana's soul, surviving, thriving and leading as a warrior.

This issue showed us
a Diana abandoned at birth for being blind, but growing up to become leader of warriors fighting injustice.
a black pirate Diana born on a slave ship who carried on her mother's legacy, leading women and fighting warlords
a black Diana who is the princess of a tribe and refused to be married, so was cast out by her father.  She continued to protect her people and led them against their enemies.

This is the essence of Diana of Themscyria.  It doesn't matter what she wears or where she is.  She is noble, compassionate and a fighter.  This issue had everything in it I wanted.  I feel like I can finally see what Straczynski was trying to do.  I know I've been up and down on this series, but I think, looking back, that when I've been down on it it's cos the issues have been boring.  I don't think this run will be marked as one of the greatest ever, but it certainly has odd moments of brilliance.

Speaking of Wonder Woman, I am much happier with the new costume for the tv pilot.  There's also a picture of Palicki playing Diana in her ambassador (my description) outfit and footage from the pilot.  I'm getting really excited about this now!

Teen Titans #93
The team join Solstice!   Bart makes a bit of a fool out of himself and a demon steals Cassie and her mum.  Scott is on pencils, as usual, and demonstrates that she understands how gravity affects breasts.  Y'see, the demon has breasts, very saggy ones at that, and when she leaps around her breasts move too.  In the right way.  Get Scott on more more books please!  You might have to clone her to do this..

Last batch of reviews...

Green Arrow 9 - hot damn this has gotten enjoyable.  Not great, not a masterpiece, but enjoyable.  I still do not care for the art though, inside and out.  The cover is terrible.  Etrigan looks like he has breasts,  if this was soem bodl new direction where he was actually going to develop both male and female attributes I'd like it.  However it's not, it's beefy muscles gone mad.

Yuck.


Gotham City Sirens 20 - a victory for Harley.  She's ingenious, driven and bright.  I really look forward to seeing how this turns out.

Teen Titans 92 - Jeanty a la Buffy portrait atrist extraodinaire did the pencils on this issue.  This meant I kept thinking the Buffster had replaced Cassie, and that Xander had snuck in and painted himself green.  Tthat was bizarre.  Damian has left the team and this makes me sad.

Batman: The Brave & The Bold #4 - Bats and Wondy get hitched.  'Nuff said!

End of January Comic reviews

Spoilers ahead


Gotham City Sirens #19
Good cover.  Shame the story is all about the Siren's love lives.  Sigh.  I do not want my book about a group of women to be about their romantic entanglements.  Can we have more of the Birds of Prey style writing here please.


JLA #53
I'm coming in at the tail end of this story arc, and it surprises me how good it is.  It's a solid comic, well adapted to it's short 22 page format, but one that will, I suspect, read just as well in a trade.  Dark Supergirl isn't really too dark, just a bit snarky.  She's not all out for evil and doom, not like she was in her introductory trade.  It's refreshing.
Now, as soon as DC clarify where dark Supergirl fits into regular Supergirl continuity I'll be happy.

Superboy #4
I may be feeling a little out of sorts today, but I am not thrilled with this art.  There's not enough detail in the faces.  This blog post talks about how women's faces are drawn with less pencil lines than men's faces, therefore they are more difficult to draw.  It's not a stance I particularly agree with, especially as a lot of the motivation for not putting in detail seems to be that less detail = beauty, and women = beauty.
Anyway, reading this comic makes me think of this post, as there's fuck all pencil detail on Connor's and other character's faces.  Any nuance comes from the colourist.  It's not an approach I care for.

Other than the art, the issue is good.


Secret Six #30
I have no fucking clue what is going on here.  The Doom patrol turns up, a lazy disaffected 23 year old decides to become an old style king of crime, and the Six are on Oolong Island, where everything converges.

Oh and Bane is taken to a strip club and there he meets 3 twitterati.  No really!  Gail Simone gave a cameo to @pseudicide (Dee) @ceebee_eebee (Elyssa) and @harleyquinnaid (Elise).  I chat to pseudicide and ceebee_eebee quite a lot on twitter.  They are adorable.  So, the panels with them in kind of made this comic for me. :D

Brightest Day #19
Aquawar! AquaWar! AquaWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

Oh hells yeah.   Bring on the Aqua goodness.  And oh look, Arthur's lost a hand. Again.  How careless of him. ;)

Comics reviews!

Ooh this week I came away with rather a lot of goods :o
There's the Stephanie Brown Batgirl figure (reviewed here at Action Figure Blues) - they had it on the shop wall so I buckled.  She's pretty nice.  Good articulation, nice accessories and good hair.  I'll get a proper review and pictures up at another time.

Then there's the grab bag of about 10 Justice League comics - including JLI, JLE and Justice League quarterly!  When I got home and investigated the contents I discovered that amongst those included were the Batman one punch issue. and the introduction of Power Girl's cat!  So score 10 points for me.

As for the comics.. well spoilers ahead for Gotham City Sirens 16, Green Arrow #4 and Wonder Woman #603.
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Gotham City Sirens 16
This was a lot of fun - the art was very strange in places but the story was fun.  It was a little all over the place but in a good way.  Harley provided the comic relief again, but in a really fun way.  I give this issue top marks.

Green Arrow #4
God this was dull.  It rehashed the Brightest Day J'onn in the forest plot and made it a lot less interesting.
I shouldn't be having this reaction - I adore Ollie.  He's one of my favourite characters, yet this book is boring the pants off me.  I suspect this is because it's all mired in the crossover and is framed as being really dark.  I want fun Ollie.  I want Dinah back.  Or at least Mia.  I want happy, smiling, grumpy, sexed up, chilli making, horny, fighting against the fascists Ollie.  I want Dinah back with him and the both of them flirting together.  I want Connor back, non powered, as an awesome martial artist and archer. I do not want angst.  This is boring.

Wonder Woman #603
I got the alternate cover - it is lovely.  I continue to like Diana in this - she is time displaced, but she's still very much the leader.  I wasn't so enamoured with the trip to Hades angle, but I appreciate the incorporation of Greek mythology.  I really want to see who this mystery man is and I *really* want to see Diana kick his ass and get her lasso back next issue.

I wonder if she's going to have to search for all the treasures, a la Ben Caldwell's Wonder Woman in Wednesday Comics?

Finally, go read about the 10 greatest nude comic book fights of all time.  There's plenty of naked man action, and the Bat and the Cat is in there!

Wonderful comics came out this week!

Red Robin 16 was not so wonderful, but have been better if it wasn't read next to Batgirl 14 and a Dr Horrible 1 shot which was..odd.  I also got Teen Titans 52 + 53 and Gotham City Sirens #9.  Which was amazingly good fun.  But onto the scans!  I cannot gush enough about Batgirl 14 so will display my love via scans:

So much win about this issue.  So much.
For a more indepth discussions see Nevermore999s LJ and Anj's blog.

Then there is also this lovely page of Kara from Teen Titans 53.

Maybe Eddy Barrows should take over Jamal Igle's pencilling duties on Supergirl?

Comics!

This batch of comics have been more inspiring, in terms of reviewing them, than others have been for a while.  Covering Superman/Batman 75, Green Arrow 3, Gotham City Sirens 15, Wonder Woman 602 and Daredevil 55.  Here goes nothing..
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Superman/Batman 75
Eh look, the Legion didn't piss me off.  And then there's a scene where Batman is mopping Superman's brow.  Because Superman has kryptonite poisoning.  Bruce is getting more tender, dammit!  That is actually a very adorable scene.
The rest of the book is 2 page stories where the creators seem to be letting rip and having lots of fun - this is what Superman/Batman should be.  The rest of the DCU can go to a dark and dank hell but this book should be fun.  There's a parody of the floppy format by Steven T Seagle and Teddy Kristiansen (them who did It's a bird...) which I really wasn't expecting as this was touted as a sequal to It's a Bird.
The Con story was great - there are 2 kids, each dressed as Superman and Batman, and they start hassling a guy dressed as the Joker, concluding with plans to launch a groin attackk!!! then they spy  Catwoman and her reactions is just priceless.

Adam Hughes does a wodnerful spread of Batgirl and Supergirl - he gives Kara a lovely face,  which looks similar to Helen Slater.
Friendly Advice is Tim and Dick and Con and Kal talking about the Cass/Con/Tim love triangle.  Dick is teasing Tim something chronic.
And the most unexpected story - a continuation of the chibli story arc from Superman/Batman 51 and 52, where we find out that tiny Superman isn't really dead, he's just sleeping!  awwyeah!
Krypto vs Ace.  Nuff said.

Then some odd stories - Joker vs Lex done Calvin and Hobbes style, Batman/Superman as a grown up Connor/Damian, and a weird story about a kid and his dad.

But the rest were ace.

Green Arrow 3
This is bewildering.  Ollie was brought back to life by the mystic wood (i'm trying to work in a bush joke here) and a knight named Galahad.  Yes that Galahad.  I think I liked it.

Gotham City Sirens 15
Aww this was all about Harley and Ivy. One of ma favourite female friendships in comics.  Aww.  Selina's in it too, but this is really def all about Harley and Ivy.

Wonder Woman 602
Diana startsher trials to earn the mantle of Wonder Woman.  She take soff her jacket and reveals some strappy gold bits to the bustier which some people reckon is gonna be her lasso.  I like the strappy bits.  I also liked the sacrifices angle, them pesky Gods, wanting you to prove your faith in blood.  I'm a little unclear where Diana got that sword from, but I think this goes to prove you shouldn't piss off an Amazon.

Daredevil 55
You are correct, this isnt usually on my pull list and is in fact quite an old title.  I got it cos I'm trying to locate soem Echo stories - she's a Deaf girl in the Marvel universe.  This is the start of a story arc named Vision Quest and is by David Mack, so the art is all painted and the way it;s put together it kind of looks more like a  collage than a regular comic book.  I suspect I'd get more out of it with the whole arc but it was an OK read.  Her Deafness is integral to her experience and came up regularly throughout the issue so that was good.


Hey, it's poll time!

Things I have enjoyed in comics these last 2 weeks

• The art in Wonder Woman 601
• The Diana in Wonder Woman 601.  I don't care how she's dressed or what she remembers.  Thsi Diana, brimming with anger is who I want to read about.
• Green Arrow creating rope contraptions and battering rams out of tree trunks.
• Jason Firestorm asking what the atomic structure of mouthwash (and everything else is)
• Then vomiting over his rescuee.
• Supergirl being an all round great book.  Particularly the artwork.
• Les Luthor being a cruel arsehole
• The answer to Star City's mystery forest turning up in Gotham City Sirens.

Review backlog - the 3 sentence version

Possibly cryptic spoilers ahead for Superman #700, Jokers Asylum: Harley Quinn, Superman/Batman #73, Gotham City Sirens #13, Teen Titans #84, Brightest Day #5, Red Robin #14
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Superman #700
The reunion of Lois and Clark was worth waiting a year to see.  Seeing Bruce trying to be an effective father is highly amusing.  Clark's walkabout makes no sense given his reunion his Lois.

Jokers Asylum: Harley Quinn
A Valentine's day edition!  Harley is a loon, but an adorable loon.  Lemon ganache, indeed.


Superman/Batman #73
For some unknown reason they haven't fixed Lois's gaping shirt (did they not get my memo?).  However, strides are taken towards redeeming this as she makes like Buffy and uses the tree trunk as a weapon.  Supes, Bats and Lois then try to apprehend the criminals in their own indomitable ways.


Gotham City Sirens #13
Selina's sister Maggie gets a whole lot more interesting, partly because her guardian angel looks like He-Man.  Maggie as avenging nun also reminds me of Lee the Fallen Angel who used to be Linda Danvers Supergirl.  I think the artists has been studying up.

Teen Titans #84
This could be a really interesting, fascinating, mythological and fantastical story.  Instead it's inept and grating.  As for the backup, I can take it or leave it - it adds nothing to the value of the comic.

Brightest Day #5
Aquaman gets topical!  Arthur and Mera try to stop the oil leak, Deadman tries to resurrect Don Hall and the Hawks continue their foray into floating lumps of earth world.  Hawkworld (aka floating lumps of earthworld) is a fantastical dimension and it's story is told well (unlike the Teen Titans story).


Red Robin #14
Tim is following in Batman's footsteps a little too closely.  Damian shows some vulnerability and humanity.  Tim and Dick prove they are inept at creating passwords.

Comic reviews - Gotham City Edition

Spoilers ahead for Gotham City Sirens #10 + 11 and Red Robin # 12.
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I had cancelled Gotham City Sirens, but with a job comes a steady wage, so I've put it straight back on the pull list.  I couldn't get # 9 tho so will have to find that elsewhere.  Anyway, onwards with the babbling.

I really really enjoy this book.  The cover for #10 is especially lovely:

I don't care that it's making the sale on sex.  The characters are so distinct and solid, the way they're drawn doesn't detract from this.  Poison Ivy in particular has always been about sex, the other two less so, but this book is so much more than wank fodder.  Having said that, it's a pity that the art inside seems to have changed.  There's not so much going on in the characters faces in these 2 issues.

In #10, the Riddler has been taken capture by a mad old coot named Dr Aesop (I believe).  The Dr has 3 women he terms muses, a menagerie of animals, and a proclivity towards his criminal activites around Aesop's fables.

I love comics.

Anyway, our 3 Sirens burst in, start a fight, get knocked out a lot and then Harley's Hyenas take Dr Aesop out.  There's also some nice slice of life stuff which takes us neatly into issue 11.

Where Ivy starts hew new job.  She's a mean boss.  She fires 2 senior people in her first 5 minutes of working there (hint - this doesn't turn out so great in the long run).

Meanwhile, Harley and Selina are out searching for missing dogs.  It turns out that Harley's Hyenas have been escaping at night and eating all the neighbourhood dogs.  Ha.

Finally, Ivy is trapped in a dehydrating chamber by a digruntled former employee (told you this was a bad idea).  Hasn't the dehydration thing been done before?  Either ina Christmas special or in the Batman 80 page giant out last year?  Anyway, it's a nice cliffhanger.

Red Robin #12
Timmmmmmy! successully takes down Ra's.  Unlike Batman he risks death by pucnhing to do this, and he enlists help from his friends.  This is one reason why Tim is a likeable character and Batman isn't.  Anyway, Cass is instructured to rescue babs, only to arrive and find that Babs has done all the rescuing herself.  Because she's badass.  Bart is uncharacteristically skeeving on Selina (something I'd expect from Conner), which makes me think how his experiences as an adult has affected him.

He got laid as an adult, he has his first girlfriend.  Before his accelerated maturity and his time as the Flash he had no knowledge of girls.  Now he does and he's got all the impulsiveness and hormones surging inside him that his normal teenage self has, and maybe this is why he's skeeving?  Ir maybe it's just bad writing.

Huntress is wearing the awful cropped version of her costume and Damian is delightfully rude, as usual.

It irks me that Tim is still obsessed with making Bruce proud - I have never liked this aspect of his character because I cannot see why he is so hopelessly devoted to Bruce.  Also his new costume has managed to lose the few good aspects of his last costume whilst also keeping all the crap bits.  Rubbish.

Still the book itself was good, of course.

Flying Death Toys. Perfect.

Spoilers ahead for: Teen Titans #79, Blackest Night: JSA #2, The Atom and Hawkman: Blackest Night # 46 (resurrected title), Green Lantern: Blackest Night #50, Gotham City Sirens #8, World's Finest #4, Cry for Justice #6 and Supergirl #49
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Teen Titans #79
Really crap art.  Half the time Static looks female.  The dialogue and pacing was weird - sometimes it felt like we were misisng a scene or two.  Rose's back up story was ok, but I've read better.  On the other hand, it may just be that i was disillusioned due to the mains tory.
I really hope this improves, I love the Teen Titans and don't want to drop the title but so far Henderson's issues have been somewhat underwhelming.

Blackest Night: JSA #2
This isn't one of the better minis.  Regarding the art, the faces are good but the bodies are weird and I don't want to think about what they've done to poor Peej's breasts to make them stay in that top.  Oh, my world for a scanner.

I think my main problem with this mini is I have no feelings towards most of the characters, and this is a book for people who care about the characters.  It's not something for new readers to jump in on.  Which is what I am, at least in terms of the JSA.  Still, DC are getting my (completist, nerdy) money so I don't really have cause to complain!



The Atom and Hawkman: Blackest Night # 46 (resurrected title)
Love the cover.  Love Ray's new costume.  I'm really interested in a Corps centred around Compassion and I've been wanting to learn more about them, and I loved the panel of Ray riding a frog (anyone put this up online or seen it anywhere?).  We are promised such a lot by the end of the issue, I am, again, left wanting more.

Green Lantern: Blackest Night #50
Oooh, svenes of violence and carnage!  Wonder Woman is still in that fucking ridiculous costume, but at least she's muscled.  Can't believe I'm reduced to saying that.  Mera is simply wonderful as a Red Lantern.  In fact, we get to see all the new Corps deputies and oh are they ever so suited to the roles!

And THEN!  It's Hal vs the Spectre.  The Spectre tries to eat 2 Guardians.
So THEN! Hal Hammers half the Spectre's face off!
And THEN!  Hal merges wiuth Parallax!  And we get a lovely 2 page spread of Parallax, all delivered in yellow, of course.
And NOW! It's Parallax vs the Spectre!  Woo hoo!


Gotham City Sirens #8
This had a lot in common with the Ivy tale in the Batman 80 Page Giant.  I have a lot of sympathy for Ivy.  Her motives are of value but unfortunately her methods are, to put it mildly, flawed.

A good issue.  Well paced, well told and with good art.


World's Finest #4
Last issue was a bit rubbish, this is now sorted out.  We still have Steph and kara, and Kara had a heart tingling scene (to me, anyway) where she yelled at Damian telling him why he shouldn't call people fat.  This is because he'd called Steph fat earlier.  This makes Kara a), a good friend, and b) a good person.  Anyway, if I didn't already have a blog banner, that panel would be it.

Much like Gotham City Sirens, this is well paced, well told and an enjoyable read with some stellar moments - Kara's fat talk and Batman's  encounter with 'flying death toys', to be specific.  We end with a nice lead in to this year's Krypton crossover.  Most of which I won't be buying.  The main title I will purchase, but I've just cancelled Action and Adventure Comics, and won't be buying this 3 parter that's coming out shortly.  Although I'll probably get the main maxi series.

Because I don't want to end on a down note, I shall talk about Cry for Justice #6 next.
There was a change of artist in this issue, but one who has a very similar style to the regular guy.  he draws a very captivating Kara and a ridiculous Zatanna (stockings? please.)

Kara is bright enough to figure out who the villain is, then gets dispatched really easily, much like the rest of the heroes.  Donna gets cruxified to the wall by Prometheus, then rips herself off the wall, takes an arrow in the leg, drags herself to Prometheus and proceeds to be the only one who can beat him down and defeat him.

Seeing Donna, a woman, an Amazon and a second leaguer, save the day in such a manner gave me a little (big) thrill.

At the end of the book Robinson acknowledges that his characters have cried Justice! a lot but stops short of an apology.  He also claims he has done something new within this mini.  I disagree.  Reading this issue in particular gave me a sense of deja vu, and reading the series as a whole has reminded me of Justice League Elite.

Supergirl #49

I bloody knew it!  Lana is the new Insect Queen!  I feel triumphant.  In other news, Kara's defeat of the Banshee was handled well and gave her a chance to shine.  Overall, this issue flowed better than # 48, and felt, again, like a Kara centric issue.  Next issue is #50, and Cliff Chiang is providing pencils for one story!  Hurrah!

Christmas comics!

Not ones that I received for Christmas, for I received none this year, but instead the ones I bought on Christmas eve.  There was some comic gift giving in my home this year - I bought the boyfriend a copy of Greg Rucka's Whiteout.  I haven't read it but from reviews I'm hoping he'll like it.

I also bought Secret Six - six degrees of devastation.  I think I will review that for the New readers.. blog as it is pretty damn good.  My only worry is how accessible it is.  What do you all think?

Anyway, for this post please be warned of spoilers regarding World's Finest #3, Buffy one shot: Willow, Gotham City Sirens #7, Teen Titans: Blackest Night #78, Green Lantern: Blackest Night #45, Blackest Night: JSA #1.
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World's Finest #3
I fully intended to get the Kara cover but ended up with the Steph one instead.  I'll be buggered if I can find an image of the Steph cover online though.  At any rate, it's pretty and laid out in a similar fashion.
In this issue, Steph and Kara team up, which you'd think would be enough to make me happy, yet this issue left me a little cold.  I think it's the art.  I'm just not keen.  Kara is muscly but something seems a bit off and I don't know what.  I expect this issue will read better when read with the other issues in one go.

Buffy one shot: Willow
Oooh OOO ooh.  Sexy cover.  Beautifully drawn.  It's go bugger all to do with the story, except that both characters are involved, but they don't embrace within the pages.  Instead, Willow goes on a magical mystery wicca quest to discover her true power.
She drops her guard and we see what is under the surface, i.e. she;s not so innocent, sweet and naeive as she appears.  Sh can be cold, calculating and she has a damn sharp mind.  I think that sometimes the writers forget that Willow was one of the most intelligent people in her school.

The letters column is a whole different kettle of fish.  So much so, there will be another post taking it apart.

Gotham City Sirens #7
A Christmas issue.  Selina raises a glass with Dick, Ivy visit the rainforests and Harley visit her family.  Beautiful art and humourous storytelling that caters to the heroines strengths and associations.


Teen Titans: Blackest Night #78
Ravager, Jericho and Deathstroke fight the Black Lanterns.  Jericho discovers that they can be killed, if another Black Lantern rips out their hearts.  We're actually getting quite a number of ways these revenants can be killed, I wonder if they will all be pulled together for the final Blackest Night main issue?  Jericho's life story gets more complicated and the Wilson family dynamic is changed once more.

Mostly this issue made me question where Jericho's body goes when he jumps into someone else.  You'd think an empty husk woudl be left, but apparently not.  I'd like to read some comic box science explaining how he works.

Green Lantern: Blackest Night # 49
John Stewart faces off against the undead hordes of Xanshi.  He proves very difficult to rile, resulting in realisation of the gameplan and Black Lanterns becoming increasingly frustrated.  He then goes off planet to discover that Xanshi has sped through space and is bearing down on earth.  As SallyP has mentioned, you'd think this would affect Earth's gravity and suchlike.  Mind you, I think Mogo woulId have this affect on Oa, but maybe I don't understand how Oa works.

There's a wee backup feature focusing on Ray, Mera and Black Lantern Jean Loring (wearing a quite frankly ridiculous outfit), in a Black Lantern ring.  There we learn how Nekron came to be and see that Deadman is about to enter the fray (again).


Blackest Night: JSA #1
This would have made more sense had I known more about the history of the JSA.  As it stands, I only know Power Girl.  Peej calls Earth 2 Kal-L her cousin and her uncle, unless I'm misunderstanding of course, and Earth 2 Lois arrive looking her husband.

I'm guessing that by the end of the mini I'll like this.

What, no crying?

And so begins my catch up comic reviews.  To make this manegable I shall split them into 4 areas: Superman/Batman themed, back issues, Blackest Night issues and finally Wonder Woman trades (yep, I bought some Simone books).  And there'll be a post gushing about my super cool awesome new Ares action figure (complete with skull motifs!!)
Anyway, spoilers ahead for Cry for Justice #5, World's Finest #2, Superman: World of New Krypton #10 and Gotham City Sirens #6.
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Cry for Justice #5
 No tears to be shed, none at all.  The shame.  The writing is somewhat improved from previous issues, however Batwoman's dialogue is oddly stiff.  I get the impression Robinson was going for a noirish feeling, but something is not quite right.  On the other hand, the art is far less static than in previous issues and it is a joy to watch Batwoman operate.
Speaking of the art, I found the bikini scenes gratuitous and uneccessary.  Zatanna's leotard is cut far too high to be comfortable and Kara's top should be riding up.  The only way it wouldn't ride up is if she never moved her upper body or if it was made baggier.  However Batwoman is drawn fairly sensibly and the men have knob bulges, which is a very unusual.  Why Red Tornado gets the biggest bulge when he's an android I have no idea.

Edit: On this subject, what bothers me about the art is he has a fairly realistic style, but this doesn't translate through to the women's clothes.  Alex Ross also goes for realism but I can believe that his Dinah is held in by the basque/leotard she wears.  I cannot believe that Vixen's breasts, as drawn in Cry for Justice, can stay in her top.

Back to the plot and Oliver Queen is treating Dinah like dirt - in an earlier issue where he and Hal Jordan were acting like frat boys it was amusing, but this is going further and he is being a vile person.  Then Red Arrow, Ollie's adopted son, arrives with his right arm torn off at the elbow.  Gruesome scene, but oh my, this artist can paint.  The last page shows Congorilla and Flash defeated on the floor, with Kara and Freddie facing off against each other.  Kara is mad as hell with glowing red eyes and looks utterly dangerous.

There is a good discussion of the various red herrings/art problems going on with this issue over at Supergirl Comic Box Commentary, so I won't delve into them here.

My final area of dissatisfaction with this issue concerns the cover.  Although beautiful, it is a lie.  Harrumph.



World's Finest #2
I was initially put off by the cartoony art, but as I read the issue I think that actually it fits the story rather well, mostly due to Damian.  I find Damian to be something of a comedy extra anyway, so buggy eyes and overlarge heads suit his character.  I also enjoyed the panel where Damian is leaping off a roof and gliding downwards - it very much reminded me of one of the Batman and Robin (new series) covers.

Sidenote - whilst (unsuccessfully) searching for that cover I came across this.  Pretty cute huh?  They'd probably make a terrible pairing but I do like the image.

The final page reveals the Toyman building a giant Superman/Batman robot.  Now, I like me a giant robot as much as the next fun lovin' sci fi fangirl, but we've seen this before in the Superman/Batman storyline.  In this book, a Japanese teenage boy genius built a ver-ry similar giant robot to deflect and destroy the big kryptonite asteroid hurtling towards earth.  The robot was then manned by Captain Atom (I believe), who purportedly died in the robot.  The asteroid contained our beloved Supergirl, mark 2.  With this in mind, I hope this mini addresses the similarities.  Preferably in the next issue, with Kara and Steph!Batgirl.

Overall this is a good fun issue.  I've completely forgotten how it ties in to issue 1, but when it's this fun, I don't care.
Ouch. That last sentence is very bad writing.  My apologies everyone.


Superman: World of New Krypton #10
This title is still coming up roses for me.  Adam is a very good choice of guest star as we can experience surprise and frustration through Adam's interactions with the Kryptonians, particulalry regarding their lack of knowledge about basic CSI techniques.
The art's great, the story is great, the plots are coming together and I'm really interested to see how it will all end.


Gotham City Sirens #6
Wow, that's a boobilicious cover.  Still, this book isn't meant to be high literature, it is fluff and is intended to partly focus on sex.

Harley gets to shine in this issue, outwitting the villain, Mr Gagsworthy, an old silver age character that was around in the Joker's early career.  More retconning takes place and we find out Gagsworthy used to work in the same circus as the Flying Graysons and was there when the elder Grayson were murdered.  The background was quite useful to me, as I'm not familiar with these old stories.

Selina and Ivy get a few panels to themselves and prove to be engaging characters with sharp wit.

Still a good book, still well worth buying.

PLUG: Reviews for Wonder Woman - the Hikieteia, Batman: the Bat and the Cat and Supergirl Cosmic Adventures in the 8th Grade are now up at New readers...start here!

I'm being overrun by tie in and minis

After 5 days of being ill and then having a visit from a friend all weekend I'm finally ready to get back to blogging.  Before I go any further however, I'd like to say a massive congratulations to my friends Admiral and Mrs Drax on the birth of their little Draxette!  Congratulations guys!  And so you're warned well in advance, I *will* be stockpiling suitable comics for her for when she can read. ;)

Back on topic, this post will be a comcis review post, for books released 2 weeks ago.  Review also written about a week ago, in prepartion for posting, but then the dreaded germs attacked.
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This is the last time I buy into an event, I swear.  I’m running out of shelf space, it’s not good.  Spoilers ahead for Worlds Finest #1, Teen Titans #76, Gotham City Sirens #5, Green Lantern Blackest Night #47, Blackest Night: Titans #3 (my absolute favourite this week) and Blackest Night #4 and a picture of the nifty promotional giveaway I got.  And a few thoughts on Flash: the fastest Man Alive - Full Throttle.
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Worlds Finest #1
I got a choice of covers when I went in and selected the Nightwing version.  The colours are so lovely and I figure I was in more of a blue peaceful mood than a red mood when I was in the shop.  This was not a setting up issue, it dived right into the story and action. An excellent, character driven story.

Teen Titans #76
Much better than issue 50.  A good battle, some mysterious villainous creatures and fully fleshed believable conflict between team members.  I felt that M’Gann M’orzz was the star of this show, despite the fact she was captured and had to be rescued by the rest of the Titans.  Something about her just resonated with me.

The Ravager back up saw Rose moving in to destroy a human-slave ring.  She has lost some of her precog abilities which is causing problems when in the midst of a fight and the issue ends with her enemy intending to use her as a super soldier.  After reading this I realised that the Ravager story in the Halloween special last week has greatly impacted on my reading of Rose and has served to make all her other stories that much richer.  Now, that’s impressive for a one page story!

Gotham City Sirens #5
Another favourite and one that spares no opportunity for gratuitous bum and breast shots - make of that that you will.  I love these three as a team and Paul Dini is writing their relationship with each other really well.  The art remains great and the I enjoyed the twist at the end.

Green Lantern Blackest Night #47
I think that the GL and GL Corps Blackest Night stories are the weakest of the bunch so far. L  Please don’t shoot me anyone..  They aren’t bad stories but I think my disinterest may be because they are both focusing on big fights and involving characters that on the whole I know little about, and only marginally care about.  So, as a new reader to the GL canon Blackest Night may not have been the best time to come in.  However, they are pretty vital to the whole event so I’m not about to drop them, but I don’t think I’ll be converted to a regular GL reader when BN is finished.
Having said that, I did very much enjoy the last couple of pages of Agent Orange running away. :)

Blackest Night: Titans #3
Now this features characters I know and love!  I especially love Dove’s role in this event.  Avatar’s of peace, love compassion and hope please me, and I have liked every incarnation of Hawk & Dove that I have come across.  After all, the idea behind them is a pretty enduring (and timeless?) one.

I have this horrible feeling that some fans will whinge about Donna snapping her (revenant) baby’s neck, a la Diana with Maxwell Lord, and that her story and life history is likely to become more complicated – she was bitten by her dead baby in issue #2 and now the poison is spreading and she is seeing people with a Black Lantern’s eyes. I persoanlly like the Donna/Diana comparison – can this suggest that Maxwell Lord was, in a sense, already dead when Diana killed him?  Or am I being just a bit wanky thinking that?

Blackest Night #4
Oh my, oh my!  First, look at the cover:

Chilling!

Inside, Mera is tough and nails, the Atom is actually heroic and not torture happy, Scarecrow’s cameo just makes me like him more.  I wonder if his comments are foreshadowing for Bruce’s role in BN?  The WW/Supes/Flash comment was a great moment, Dinah and Ollie got a cameo (and instructions not to get hotheaded) and the rings get fully charged!  The Black Lantern power battery is transported to Coast City and the whole of Coast City is commanded to rise!  Holy fuck, this won’t be good.

The art on the final splash page is fabulous, as is the scythe (which I would like, please), but I can’t help feeling I’d be getting more out of this if I knew who Nekron was.


Before I head off and read Flash: Lightning in a Bottle: Full Throttle* (contender for longest trade name ever) I shall supply you with this picture of the promo bag I got with my books today:

 

 

 Cool huh?


*Now read and of course loved.  Poor Bart.  Poor Tim, and Jesse.  The two pages with them are really affecting.  This was a series which made me love the Rigues even more. they really aren't your average comic book villains.  They really are 3 dimensional and you can sympathise with them.  They have a code of honour and ethics and aren't through and through bad.  When Libra comes to them to persuade them to join Darkseid because evil will win, I get the sense that that is a stupid thing to fofer the Rogues, because they aren't evil.  They aren't interested in causing evil, they just want to get on with their lives.  They may do this be being petty criminals but it's done in the same way that used car salesman break the law, you know?  Their primary objective isn't to cause pain, or to hurt people or maim them for the fun of it.

I then re-read Final Crisis: Rogues Revenge which just made me love them even more, and hate Inertia.

Both the Flash book and Rogues Revenge should be essential reading for any Flash fan.

Gotham City Sirens #4/Teen Titans #75/Blackest Night Titans #2 + GL #46

First of two posts for today.  There will be a Green Arrow scan going up later, as requested by notintheface over at Stars and Garters.
 
I’ve upped lowered (?) the ante to 4 sentence reviews.  Spoilers ahead.
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Gotham City Sirens #4
Still full of cheesecake, still great.  This is a lot of fun, helped enormously by the fact I have a soft spot for Harley, as I do for any bonkers female villain in love (why hellooo there Cupid!).  In this issue both Hush and the Joker try to kill Harley, but are foiled by Selina and Ivy.  The art is great.

Teen Titans #75
New (black, female) writer Felicia D Henderson is on board.  Diversity in writers is great, and the dialogue was fast paced, but ultimately I’d forgotten that I’d read the issue by the next day.  The cover is particularly boring and the plot was so-so.  I won’t be able to judge Henderson’s writing for a few more issues, and as I don’t think I’m capable of dropping TT that will work out fine.

Blackest Night: Titans #2
Hey, it looks like Dove doesn’t exhibit any emotional aura, despite the fact she’s quite clearly full of rage, anguish and love.  Could this be connected to her being the avatar of Peace?  Oh I do hope she has a big role to play in Blackest Night, I love the Hawk and Dove team.  The other thing that excited me about this is the return of Tempest, Dolphin (who I heart so much) and who I presume is Aquagirl (who I have no feelings towards either way).

Blackest Night: Green Lantern #46
Oh my, so much to love in this issue.  Sod my previous 4 sentence rule, I’m going to gush via the medium of a list:

• The conversations between Sinestro and Carol. Carol and Hal, and Hal and Sinestro.
• Indigo-1 mocking Hal.
• Indigo-1 in general.
• Khufu and Chay-ara being the beings that power the Star Sapphires power battery.  I may be a cynical git but I love the Hawkman/woman reincarnation through love deal, almost as much as I love Wally being anchored to earth through Linda and his’ love for each other.
• The panel of the black Guardian telling all unengaged Black Lanterns to follow the Indigo light.  Not only is it a very scary image you are now terrified for what that will mean for the inhabitants of the Indigo bubble.
• Xanshi.
• The last page, specifically Hal’s indignant outburst.

Things I don’t love:
The fact I know nothing about Slushh (good name for a mucous-y being) and so didn’t understand what the hell happened with him.


And that’s all my recent purchases covered, barring my trips to the back issue box.  Sadly there are no more Warrior ones to pick up but I have purchased all the Impulse ones they had.  General thoughts on Impulse coming up later in the month.

Trip me up and call me Nora. That was a rollicking good week.

Herein lies big big spoilers for the following comics:
Teen Titans #74, The Flash: Rebirth # 4, Wonder Woman #35, Gotham City Sirens #3, Green Lantern #45, Blackest Night: Titans #1.
There will be no spoilers for Blackest night: Superman #1 because my store still hasn't got it in. They reckon there may be a problem with shipping to the UK. Any other UK folks had the same problem?
There will also be no spoiler for Superman because that got missed from my pile so I shall be heading back to the city to pick it up tomorrow. I am sure it will be good. Well I hope so anyway.
So, on with the squee! (and there is such a lot this week).
[edit - i cancelled Det Comics last week. It's just not interesting me. i'm rather annoyed about that.]
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Teen Titans #74
Oh no. :(
Oh no no no no no no no.
Eddie's dead. (Do not insert Rocky horror show reference).
I am heartbroken. Eddie is too good to die. :( I mean, it's a good move story wise because killing off a newer member would just have been crass, and he did die a truly heroic death. how, I hear you ask? Well nuclear man (not his actual name) was sort of defragmenting at the prison, so Eddie pelted over there, still without powers I will add, and took nuclear man up in the shuttle to outer space where he exploded without harming the city.
Oh Eddie. :( The rest of the Titans were fighting down on the ground so couldn't take over, but M'Gann realised what Eddie was up to, and her, Cassie and Blue Beetle flew up to try and stop him but they didn't get there in time.
What is Rose going to do when she finds out? Beat seven shades of crap outta the folks who orchestrated this I reckon. Those two were made for each other. :(

After his death Cassie has a pity fit thinking she's a crap leader, and Bombshell gives her a pep talk, saying they should learn from their mistakes instead of running away from them.
looks like they're getting some respect for each other.

Oh this was good, but oh so sad.

Eddie better not come back as a Black Lantern. I've no idea what sits where continuity wise, so hopefully this is not even a possibility.

As for the Ravager back up, well last issue some folks had decided to kill her. As you can imagine it didn't work and she beat them silly.

The Flash: Rebirth # 4
Oh holy fuck! Max is back Max is back! *does the happy Max is back dance*
Oh I've been waiting soooo long for this!
A lot of the issue is about the things that draw the speedsters home when they're stuck in the speed force. Max claims he doesn't have anyone like that. Barry tells him he's a father to Bart, and brings him home. Oh I welled up reading this.
The (original?) Zoom is back and in command of a negative speed force. It is revealed that Barry created the speed force when he had his chemical accident. Bart punches Zoom in the face and then Zoom is about to stab him in the neck. Next page is a full splash of Max standing tall, lightening crackling, stating the pleasure [of fighting and winning] will be all his. Bart is knocked to the ground and is stunned, incredulous and happy that Max is back.

Plotwise, one last mention should go to Jai and Iris. Great little kids. Irey reminds me of katei power from Marvel's Power Pack. If you haven't read any of the original Power Pack you really should go and hunt it out. Start with the earlier issues, because it goes a bit wrong later on.

The art on this issue is stupendous. If you're in anyway interested in the Flash family, Bart or Max, go buy this issue.

Over on heartbart everyone is pretty stoked about this issue. Deerane has posted a Max/Bart picture and it's so lovely I just have to share:


There's also some adorable fan fiction up concerning the Connor/Bart/Tim reunion.
Love Bart. There's one very happy fan over here.

Wonder Woman #35
Simone writes good female friendships. It is clear that Diana has a great deal of respect for Dinah and vice versa. It's also clear that Simone enjoys writing these characters. I don't often get a feel for that sort of emotion.
Diana and Dinah found the Ame-Comi DC statue of Diana. They weren't very impressed. God knows what they'll think if they see the new one.
I've really liked these last 2 issues and now I am pretty certain I'll buy the Wondy trades.

Gotham City Sirens #3
Not much of the Sirens in this issue, instead it focuses on the Riddler and his meeting with the new Batman. Still good though. Thoroughly enjoyable. good art. Still cheesecakey and asserific, but this week I've decided I don't care. There's room in the superhero comic world for T+A, just so long as we've also got non exploitative issues to go alongside it.

I like the cover - very much about the bodies, and most definitely using the women's sexiness to sell the issue - it looks like a scene from a strip joint, but the colours are lovely.
It's amazing how much my interpretation changes dependent on my general mood...
At least this book is upfront about it. I can't stand it when media tries it pass itself off as fair and just, yet includes crass and insulting portrayals of women. It's linked in to my views on lads mags and how they should they be on the top shelf. But that's a whole other post.

Green Lantern #45
Carol Ferris as Star Sapphire vs Sinestro. She tries to show him the power of love, he lashes out and pushes it away. I think the Sapphires are being a little close minded trying to convert everyone to the power of love, we need other emotions too.
The Black rings are hovering around Odym, home of the Blue corps, waiting for death to claim the corps.
Agent Orange is on Okarra and about to be ransacked by a huge number of Black lanterns that have just risen. Yuh-oh.
The Indigo Corps haven't risen yet, but there's hints that they shall do so soon. the Black corps state that 'as soon as it's bearers shine the indigo light it will be ours'. Does this mean that the Black corps can only assault the other Corps if they are utilising their powers? Indigo for compassion. I *really* want to see what they can do.
The most entertaining part, and dare I say it, the best part, was Xanshi becoming a Black Lantern. For those that don't know, Xanshi is a planet. There is now a revenant planet. Most. fun. thing. ever. Is it gonna go smash into Mogo? Is it gonna hurtle towards earth? hee hee, so much fun!

Kalinara will be pleased. Kalinara, are you psychic?! Or was every GL fan expecting this and I just hadn't cottoned on?

Either way. Hell yeah.

Blackest Night: Titans #1
No rejuvenated dead planets in this one, but still plenty good.
Rose is in it, she's just had a one night stand and is telling the guy to get out, presumably because she doesn't like getting close to people.
Bart is in it, complaining about his statue not looking like him. Ed Benes does the artwork on this. I do like the basic idea of his faces, they're sensual, unfortunately they all tend to look the same. Not much variety.
So, who comes back in this one?
Hank Hall. He kills the current Hawk.
The original Terra. She starts snogging Gar.
Lilith - she must be a former Titan, but I've not come across her before.
Troia's daughter will be back and on panel in the next issue.

All good stuff, and my am I glad I chose this event to get fully involved in.

A bloody great week all told.

Reviews 23.07.2009

Well this is nice. I’m reviewing something the same week it came out. Spoilers ahead for Wednesday Comics #3 (so-so), Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds #5 (tickle worthy), Green Lantern #43 (Prologue to Blackest Night), Green Lantern #44, Power Girl #3 (so-so), Gotham City Sirens #2 (tits and asserific), Supergirl #43 (wow), Adventure Comics #1 preview (double wow).
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Wednesday Comics #3
The Supergirl strip continues to delight, Amanda Connor’s art is lovely and I’m really enjoying the little details she’s putting in, such as the kids petting Krypto. I hear tell that this type of story is very silver age. I wouldn’t know as I haven’t read much silver age stuff, but now I’m more inclined to give the old fashioned stories a go.
Kamandi is just an old fashioned adventure story really.
Superman is still lovely – full of emotion.
Tim’s derision of Wednesdays and the violence it brings, in the Teen Titans strip, makes me chuckle. I think it’s great how this strip contains more than one group of Titans.
The Wonder Woman story is very full of information, but that doesn’t make it bad. The colours are beautiful, the lettering is really effective and I find it really interesting. This strip has received a lot of criticism, but I’m not getting that.
Flash has just got a whole lot more interesting, what with Barry visiting the future.

I no longer have any interest in Metamorpho, Strange Adventures, Metal Men, Sgt Rock, The Demon & Catwoman, Batman, Hawkman, Deadman or Green Lantern.

Final Crisis: legion of 3 Worlds #5
Oooh this went all meta! I am a big fan of these types of stories so was very tickled by the outcome of this one. Not really much else to say. We finally saw the reunion of Superboy and Bart with the Titans and respective families - the scene was set up in the same manner as that of Green Arrows return from the dead.

Green Lantern #43 (Prologue to Blackest Night)
I succumbed and placed all Blackest Night titles on standing order. Initially I wasn’t going to bother with the prologue issues but I was told that I really should get GL #43. Post reading, I’m not that bothered by it, but I guess it’s good to see where Black Hand came from since he’ll be an integral part of Blackest Night.

Green Lantern #44
J’onn is back and beats up on Hal and Barry. John Stewart is at the site of Xanshi when all the black power rings descend and proclaim the dead to Rise. As the man says, That ain’t good.
It sure isn’t!

Power Girl #3
Ultra Humanite’s ship is powered by a giant organ. Hur hur. Innuendo aside, that’s a frickin’ great idea! Terra and cameos from the JSA made the final installment of this story more interesting. I was rather enamoured of the way in which Peej and Terra rescued Manhattan. The new alien ladies look like great fun and remind me of why Amanda Connor’s art is so good.

Hopefully now that this arc is completed we won’t see any more discussion of the use or ownership of Peej’s body.

Gotham City Sirens #2
The idea of Selina getting training from Talia Als Ghul on how to hide Bruce’s secret for the world is just terrible. An awfully cackhanded way of resolving last issue’s cliffhanger.

Although the colouring and pencils in this issue is gorgoues, the gratuitous tits and ass isn’t. The scene where the criminal blokes are checking out Harley and we only see a torso, that’s not gratuitous - we are seeing her from their perspective and they only see her as a hot piece of meat.

Every other scene of Catwoman, Ivy and Harley where their breasts, bum, legs or lips take centre stage, that’s gratuitous. It is interesting that the other women in the comic (bystanders) aren’t objectified like this, so it seems to be that the artist (or editor, whoever makes these decisions) is deliberately choosing to make the 3 heroines uber sexy. While I understand that they are all sexy and each has their own way of using their sexuality, that doesn’t mean that every.single.scene. has to objectify them. When the 3 of them are together, alone, in the warehouse they won’t be using their feminine wiles on each other. It follows that the art should reflect this. Yes, they are wearing sexy costumes, but their costumes don’t require them to arch their back or for the focus to be on their hips, groin, chest or grossly distort their anatomy. I’m thinking specifically of the first splash page with Selina tied up. What is going on with Ivy’s thigh. Legs, and joints do not work that way!

Supergirl #43
Oh my I’ve been waiting a long old time for this issue. The cover is beautiful and would make a perfect poster. Kara thinks so too as she has a photo of it on her desk. That is incredibly egotistical and weird. Who has pictures of themselves on their desks? Well, I know people do, but I think it’s bizarre. It’s similar to have a portrait of yourself up in the living room…

This issue gave us a lovely snapshot into Kara’s home life on Krypton. The arrangement of items in her room, the way the clothes are strewn across the chair and floor and the objects she has decorating her room all give us more insight to both Kara’s personality and Kryptonian life. Her white outfit that’s he’s wearing at the desk is evocative of 2 of the Tonner Supergirls doll. I wonder which design came first?

Kara is a typical teenager in this installment, by that I mean self centred and self pitying, and I don’t mean that as a criticism. She is convinced that her mother is sending her on all these chores in order to punish her. Her mother is actually doing it as a favour to her so that she can learn more about her new world and make an informed choice when it comes to choosing a guild.

I thought this was a great piece of characterisation. Who here hasn’t, as a teenager, been so convinced of their rightness and world view that they cannot fathom that their parents may have a different motivation for asking them to carry out chores.

This sub plot also served to further differentiate Kara from other heroes. Dinah Lance, Barbara Gordon, Wonder Woman would never have jumped to the same conclusion. Granted, they wouldn’t be put in that position because they don’t have the adult-teenage mother-daughter dynamic, but nevertheless as adult women they have maturity and an understanding of life that you generally don’t have as a 17/18 yr old. It tells us more about her and contributes to an individual characterisation that distinguishes her from not only adult heroes but also her teenage peers, Mia, Cassie Sandsmark and M’Gann M’orzz wouldn’t have had the same interpretations of her mother’s requests.

I am not faulting Kara for reacting the way she did, it’s something everyone goes through and it’s necessary as you grow up to be a mature, responsible adult. It’s really good to see that she’s not being treated as standard teenage hero model 3 and it also helps us see her growth from issue #1 to now.

All in all, an excellent issue.

Adventure Comics #1 preview
The art in this is ace. Colours, pencils, layout, all of it. It looks like the first issue is going to re-establish Connor’s place in the DCU, comparing him to Superman’s career, re-connecting him to his friends (hello there Bart!) and looking at how he performs with potential disasters. This is going to be a must on the pull list.

Currently listening to: Patti Smith's Easter.

Reviews part 4: The slowly catching up edition

Featuring spoilers for comics that are 2 (3?) weeks old. Namely, Superman #689, Teen Titans #72, Gotham City Sirens #1 and Detective Comics #854.
In reverse order…
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Detective Comics #854
Batwoman! Na na na na na na na na na na Bat(wo)man!
Shortly to be reprinted with much prettier art. The shame.
Anyhows, we’ve already seen the first few pages in previews, so we know Kate is all sultry and sexy to the criminal. Now I’ve only come across her in 52 before but this characterisation seemed off to me. And somewhat off given that she’s gay. Now, I’d understand Catwoman being all sultry, or Dinah (in a different manner) but I’ve yet to come across a lesbian who flirts with the mens like Kate has been doing. Someone who’s bi (Poison Ivy), yeah, but not Kate, and anyway she didn’t seem all that sexual in her other scenes.
Mayhap I’m being prejudiced. Maybe she’s putting on a personae a la Bruce or Clark. Either way, it wasn’t enough to make me dislike the book. I’m mostly making a big deal out of it because Sam commented on the lack of criticism in the blogosphere.

The layout in this book is great. The art will grow on me I’m sure - right now I’m not sure about the colours.

Good things: Kate proves her detectivey skills by knowing more than Batman does. Yay, it’s good to see a Bats that isn’t all knowing. We get to see her working out. I don’t know why this pleases me so much but it does. We see her with her lover, calling her out on the late nights. I like the villain, Alice.

Bad things: I hate Kate’s short hair. I hate her tattoos, I hate her makeup. I hate her clothes. I preferred the high femme Kate from 52.

It’s a half decent opening issue and I did come away from it so excited, but to be honest I think most of that is because she’s a lesbian wearing the bat symbol. Leading the book. That is rather important to me. And yes, right now it's tokenistic, but I have faith that Rucka will make it less tokenistic and then she'll be just another person fighting crime.

Of course there was also the Question backup. As much as I love the idea of Kate I love Renee more. Butch wonder. She’s down to earth, confident, capable and tough. Gods, I’ve spent years wondering where the confident chicks in popular culture were, I shoulda picked up comics earlier.

Good things: The Monty Python and the Holy Grail joke. The art. The fact that it’s Renee and she kicks ass.

Bad things: I preferred her long hair. The fact that her hair mysteriously changes colours from brown/black to blonde. Umm what? The first story arc is about forced prostitution/porn films/rape.

Gotham City Sirens #1
My winner of last week. :) Oh so the cover is completely cheesecakey but it is called Sirens after all. The art inside is gorgeous. Ivy, Selina and Harley rock, the story is fun, (a much better set up issue than Detective Comics, but then again, here we know all about the characters), Zatanna’s cameo was amusing and Harley got her hammer.

Loved it. :)

Teen Titans #72
Titled Girl Fight, this was certainly a women centred issue. Sort of.
It opens with Eddie and Static (who I recently learned is a Milstone character nto a mainstream DCU one) playing console games. Jaime gets agitated and his scarab fires up ready to shoot the others, haw.
Jaime spends a lot of this issue checking out the lady titans and getting really embarrassed. Bombshell and Megan discuss clothes then they all (except for Cassie) go out for food and dancing. Basically they are acting like real teenagers and this ex teenager approves.

Cass meanwhile is doing the rounds checking up on the prison and then gets into a fight, and then the Calculator turns up. I hate the Calculator, enough of the freakin’ Calculator.

*sigh* I bet this bleedin storyline will carry on and on and on.

The backup feature is Ravager. Woot yeah Rose! She seriously needs to dejunkify herself.

Superman #689
This month’s cover is not so good. Mon looks altogether odd. Almost Spock like, no?
In this issue Mon fights crime around the world. He meets the local heroes and kicks some ass. He also meets Congorilla, who turns up in Cry for Justice, although I didn’t make the connection at the time.
Jim Harper defends Mon live on TV and gets some crazed anchor off of Mon’s case.
The art remains very satisfying.
Ooh, and Atlas comes back. Bring on the Super titles crossover!

My Pull List

Hardcopy:
DC Week 1: Animal Man, Green Arrow (electronic)
DC Week 2: Superboy, Demon Knights (electronic)
DC Week 3: Birds of Prey, Supergirl, Wonder Woman
DC Week 4: Teen Titans 

Weeklies - Ame-Comi Girls and Smallville

My Marvel pull! Ultimate Comics Spider-man

My other pulls! Danger Club, Princless