Comic reviews from June/July/August

It took me nearly 6 weeks to read these. I managed to post short reviews (thoughts) on twitter so I'm going to rewrite those comments for here.

Bombshells 1 - Pretty good. Nice designs. I'm glad I got this.
Hawkeye - this made me cross. Then my friend pointed out that the thing that made me cross didn't actually happen, and then I felt relieved. If you've read it you'll know what bit I mean.

Raven the Pirate Princess 1 and 2 are VERY GOOD. There is a not all men joke. Fnaar.

It also promises gayness and is building a wicked cool cast of lady pirates. Love it.

JLU 11 and 12 were pretty good. Nice art and a new direction for the series,in terms of team members. It's big heroic efforts to save.the whole world, and that's the sort of story I like

Batgirl 42 was good fun. Nice cartoony physical artwork. The annual had similar fun art and took us to the other Batladies! Including this era's Spoiler. It was a good intro (for me) of the character to the post-Flashpoint universe. Or is post-convergence now?

Starfire 3. Look at this Terra as drawn by Emanuela Lupacchino, inked by Ray McCarthy and coloured by Hi-Fi.

Justice League Gods and Monsters: Wonder Woman 1 - I did enjoy this and JL Gods and Monsters 1 and 2.  It's a decent alternate Trinity story.

Sex Criminals 9 and 11 were both good comics. I don't seem to have 10 so I bought that next time I was at the comic shop. I was pretty tired when I read 9 and 11 so didn't have any actual commentary. I've kind of forgotten the details of the two issues too.

Let's write up some comics

This week I bought and read this lot:

Black Canary 1
Much more interesting than I thought it would be from the preview.  It doesn't really feel like my Dinah though, but I guess I'm looking for a Dinah in her 30s ready to settle down with Ollie (who to be fair would never be a rock star).  So this version not feeling like her isn't a criticism.  It is a good comic.  The only thing that pulled me out of it was that I don't buy her wearing her Canary outfit  on stage.  If they'd given her shorts or a skirt it would work much better.

Harley/Peej 1
This was a lot more fun than I expected.  I've been underwhelmed by Harley's main series but this was far better.  The two of them work well together. Unfortunately the cover is not Amanda Conner's finest hour.  The inks are rather heavy and it just doesn't flow very well.

Sensation Comics featuring Wonder Woman 11
Another bad cover,  Yeeuch.  Badly composed, badly pencilled, badly inked and badly coloured.  Inside is Jamal Igle's pencils which are much better but the inks are a bit too heavy handed.  The colours are OK.  Overall, this lacks the finesse of the Gates/Igle Supergirl work, but that's not Igle's fault.  In the issue Di goes to Africa to try to get two sides of a warring nation to reconcile.  It sounds a bit white saviour-ish doesn't it.  I don't think it comes across that way but I'm willing to listen to other opinions.

Princeless book 4 issue 1
The story is good but I hate the art.  The composition of the panels is good, the actions (and interaction) of the characters are good, but the style of faces, the inks and the colours are horrible.  It won't stop me buying this series, but if you do pick it up please be aware that this art is not indicative of the rest of the series' art!  And on the plus side, we do have killer squirrels:

Battleworld: Thors 1
I think I bought this for horse Thor.  It's OK.  I suspect it's more for Marvel aficionados than me.  It seems like a bit of an industry vanity project, and I mean that in the best way possible.

Battleworld: Runaways 1
The only actual Runaway in this is Molly Hayes.  The rest are mutants, Cloak and Dagger and some other randoms who I expect regular Marvel readers will know.  They are all attending a school to train them as Doom lackeys, or some such.  I tell you what, I do like the premise for Battleworld.  It works far better than Convergence, at least for these two titles.  This was a fun enough comic.  It also queered up Jubilee and Pixie, which was good to see:

Are they gay in the regular 616 universe?

Ms Marvel: Crushed (trade)
This is volume 3 of the current Ms Marvel run.  I really liked it, it's a good young adult comic about teenage crushes and the pitfalls that come with it, with added superpowers.  The only thing I didn't like was the thinly veiled lesson about consent.  It just seemed a bit too obvious to me, but maybe that's because I've been seeing this sort of stuff discussed for years and given where I am at the moment, I really could do with not having these conversations.  Quite frankly, I don't care.  That sounds awful doesn't it.  But I don't.  I'm concentrating on my pregnancy and everything else that requires energy, or passion can piss off.  So, I'm wondering who the teenage audience this is aimed at would take this lesson. If they don't find it too much, then I guess it's a good thing.

Batman: The Ring, The Arrow and The Bat
I've been meaning to get this for about 2 years.  Despite the name, it's a Green Arrow trade, not a Batman book.  The first story is Hal and Ollie meeting for the first time.  Hal is working for the government and doesn't realise he's being used, and Ollie is out for a good vigilante time, until he realises the wrongs being done, and then he gets all angry about it.  It's quite a quick change.  Hal and Ollie argue but end up friends.  Art is by Greg Land, before his porn tracing days.  If you like these two, and you like these trades, then you'll like this story.

The second story is Green Arrow and Batman meeting and working together for the first time.  There is lots of snark and one liners.  The villains in the story are stereotypical/generic Asian bad guys, which makes me wince, and plot development is a bit obvious, but apart from that, it's good fun.

I've also been watching Arrow season 1, and while I'm kinda enjoying it, it's a bit bloody miserable isn't it?  Oliver Queen enjoys life, but Ollie in Arrow doesn't.  Granted, he has just come back from the island and is traumatised, but by all accounts he doesn't get any happier over the seasons.  Le sigh.  I like the flashbacks to the island the best.  He looks and acts more like 'my' Ollie there.

Comic reviews

I bought this lot this week:

Quite a change from the piles of Convergence stuff I have been getting.

Starfire 1 was very good. I think I'll continue getting this.  I am surprised to see Kori so clueless about earth stuff, but no matter, it's a good issue, skillfully done.

Batman/Superman 21 made me wince.   I have not got any interest in a grim Supes with moody inner dialogue.  He's not even expressing undiluted angry, he's just draining and the anger is self absorbed. He's bitter and resentful.  Supes can be angry, of course he can, but there's a world of difference between this anger and the anger of the pre 52 Superman.  It's not a fun thing to read.  I'll be cancelling this.

Harley Quinn 17 was OK.  It passes the time but I'm not too fussed about it, I think I'll cancel it.

Comics review: Convergence week 5

Spoilers ahead (probably).

Convergence 5
I really cannot bring myself to care about this main title.  Skataris and dinosaurs are fun, but it's not necessary to read this to understand the tie-ins.  I suspect that I will be selling this mini.

Convergence: Justice League 2
There's some ridiculous bum and boob images in this.  Ignoring that, this isn't too bad,  It's pretty much a big fight between the League and Flashpoint Aquaman, with a bit of Vulko, ending with Mera killing Flashpoint Aquaman.  I can't imagine anyone not invested in pre 52 continuity enjoying this.  Fortunately, I like the pre 52 world a lot.  These 2 issues are keepers, really just for Supergirls' involvement in them.

Convergence: Superman 2
Just lovely.  Lois has been kidnapped by Flashpoint Kal, but he doesn't mean her harm, and he takes her to Flashpoint's Batman's cave.  Lois goes into labour and Flashpoint Batman (Thomas Wayne, a  doctor) says he can't handle delivering the baby so Clark does it.  Surprisingly, they show the labour as being quite drawn out, and not over in half an hour.  And at the end Lois and Clark and a baby boy.  It's delightful.  This is definitely a keeper.

Convergence: Batman and Robin 2
This appears to be one of the few tie-ins that lets it's heroes be heroes - i.e. not willing to go fight the opposing champion.  Of course it is, it's Batman.  Jason Todd and Damian are in this, and it turns into a father-sons piece.  The art is nice.  I couldn't care about the story.  I'll try and sell this.

Convergence: The Atom 2
I think I'd remember this more fondly if I hadn't watched Smallville's Booster episode last night (with the three Blue Beetles in it).  Which means that I'm getting my blue heroes muddled.  The comic was OK.  I find the Deathstroke vs the Atoms storyline strange, probably because I wasn't reading the pre 52 issues where Deathstroke killed Ryan Choi.  I do like that Ryan has been resurrected, that's a good thing about this event.  I am undecided as to whether I should keep this.

Convergence: The Question 2
This might be called the Question but really it's a Two-face/Renee story, with lots of support by Batwoman and Huntress.  Some of the storytelling through just art (no words) is pretty damn fine.  I highly highly recommend this.  Definitely a keeper.

Convergence: The Titans 2
Roy finds a way to save Lian and his friends, and Lian is the real Lian, and she remains alive at the end.  This resonated.  It's a keeper.

Convergence: Speed Force 2
This has a very flat, cartoony, style of art. It's not what I'm used to, but I can't tell if I think if it's bad, or if it's just different.  Reading it, I have trouble accepting this Flashpoint Wonder Woman.  She's too far away from the Diana I am used to.  Irey seems to have some sort of torso muscles, which is strange, given her age.  I think I thought this issue was nice enough, but it's not really got anything memorable in it.  I liked the first issue though, so I'll probably keep this.

Convergence: Harley Quinn 2
This was fun.  Harley tells Cap'n Carrot she has super fists, scorch vision, canary scream, awesome-portation and a magic hammer stolen from the Gods.  He believes her, because who lies about having super powers?  This plan backfires but it all turns out well in the end, and Harley is reunited with ivy and Selina.  But doesn't go back to her fella.

Convergence: Batgirl 2
Steph and Tim seemed out of character in this.  Tim says that he ignored her for the last year because she was no longer Batgirl. Now she is suited up again, he's interested again.  She gets annoyed at this, but then takes him back.  I prefer to think that Steph has more self respect than that, and that Tim isn't such a dick.  Possibly keeping for nostalgia reasons.

Convergence: Nightwing and Oracle: 2
This was good.  I really like the design of the Hawks, and Black Canary shows up.  The Hawks get defeated and are offered the chance to live in this Gotham, curating their culture.  That's how heroism works.  Then Babs and Dick get hitched and we see the second ever good comic book wedding dress.  The first was Canary's when she married Green Arrow, FYI.  These 2 issues are keepers.

One thing that I realised during this week's comics, is that the fights between champions aren't to the death.  I had assumed they were, but I don't think Telos ever stated that.  He just said one champion must be defeated.

I didn't read many of the divergent previews.  I doubt I'll be getting many of them.

Comic reviews: Convergence week 4 and lots others

So many comics to write about.  I'll try to keep each review brief.

Justice League 40
I bought this one for the boy band cover and obviously now want to watch Magic Mike, the film it is apparently from.  I did rather like the story too.  Metron is about and meets the anti monitor and all the crises are referenced.  At the end the Amazonian birthed anti-God turns up, which feels less stupid than it did in the WW FCBD story.

Multiversity 2
I think this reestablished the pre 52 Multiversity, with new universes, and established a group of protectors for it, including lady Aquaman.  It also has a panel of Vampire Wondy and Vampire Bats craving coffee.  Which is fun.

Superman 40
This is a very strange comic,  The JL are being written like they are all aged about 18 or 19, or younger.  The plot kind of works, but the way in which it's delivered is weird.  John Romita JR writes and pencils, and the pencils are bloody awful.

X-Men 26
The Krakoa storyline ended.  All but Rachel seem a bit bloodthirsty.  It's a reasonable ending, I suppose.

Bitch Planet 4
I adore this comic and the editorials.  Y'all should read it.

Princeless the Pirate Princess 4
Fecking wonderful, as ever, and Raven is confirmed queer. Love this,

FCBD offering from the CBLDF
This is a bit too much issue focused for me to really enjoy it. I'll pass it on.

FCBD offering: DC's Divergence
Ridiculous.  Commissioner Gordon is the new Batman in the Batsuit that looks like a Blue Beetle suit.  Lois has told the word Clark's secret.  An Amazonian fucked Darkseid and the child is the anti-God.  What a load of crap.

FCBD offering from Dark Horse
The Fight Club story was quite good.  I haven't bothered reading the other two.

FCBD offering from Boom studios
I've flicked through this and it looks good, but I haven't had the headspace to read it in totality.

Convergence 4
I can't be bothered to flick through this and re-acquaint myself.

Convergence: Shazam 1
One of the best Convergence books so far.  It has that innocence the Marvel family used to have, when they were unashamed at being written for kids.  It's got Sivana and Tawky Tawny but isn't written as a nostalgia trip - it's a genuinely good story and a good addition to Marvel canon.

Convergence: Blue Beetle 1
This is about Captain Shinypants, the Question and Blue Beetle, with a guest appearance by Booster.  Pretty Good, even with Shinypants in it.

Convergence: Crime Syndicate 1
Somehow I liked this.  I normally find the Crime Syndicate really really dull, but this was enjoyable.   Nice art too.

Convergence: Booster Gold 1
Pre 52 Booster meets New 52 Booster and if you like traditional Booster you'll like this issue.  the Legion of Superheroes turn up.  Fights ensue.  This was one of the highlights of this week's comics.

Convergence: Detective Comics 1
Helena Wayne and Dick Grayson from the earth where they are proper adult legacy heroes.  I liked their squabbling an the clear characterisation of all involved.

Convergence: Infinity Inc 1
I'm not clear on the background or history for this, but I quite enjoyed it.

Convergence: Plastic Man 1
I get the Freedom Fighters existing in a world where the Nazis won the war, I don't understand what Plastic Man is doing there.  Was he ever part of that world?  I did enjoy the comic and the Freedom Fighters as a team, so that's a job well done by the creators.

Convergence: World's Finest 1
This I did really enjoy.  It feels like a decent standalone story in it's own right.

Convergence: Action Comics 1
Another good one.  Like World's Finest, it simply works as a story by itself.

Convergence: Justice Society of America 1
This week turned out a bunch of corkers.  This feels like it was created by people with real respect for the JSA era and the main guys in the team.  Good work.

JLA Paradise Lost 1
I got this from the comic shop in Brugges in March, but forgot I'd bought it.  It was pretty good.  It has Zauriel in it trying to stop a fellow angel take over Heaven.

JLA Incarnations 6
Also from the Brugges comic shop.  This is the JLI at it's finest and it much better than the Convergence JLI issue.  The first story is led by Booster and Beetle, and proves why they shouldn't be allowed to roam around unsupervised.  The second story is led by Captain Shinypants when he's on Extreme Justice and just proves that team is rather incompetent.  Worth reading for the JLI story.

Superman Krypton Chronicles 1 and 2
These are really good fun, and a bit batshit.  Plot holes a aplenty but as they aren't meant to be serious, who cares?  Clark is asked by the Daily Planet boss to put together an article on Krypton's history, so Clark has to travel to Kandor with Supergirl, now on the planet Rokyn, to meet with Supergirls parents and learn about Kryptonian history.  It's all a bit unhinged, but it allows the writers to have fun, and so the reader has fun too.  The reasoning for getting Kryptonian's history seems a bit bandwagon jumping though:

Superman Confidential issues

These are a great set of issues, and it's a great run.  Superman stories where he's being heroic from different stages of his life.  It's only 14 issues long and the ones I picked up were written by Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti, who nearly always turn out reliably solid work, with the later issues pencilled by Phil Hester, who I adore.

Superman issues, pre 52 ones

One is a Christmas issue which I recall liking a lot, one is a one year later one that I already had, but forgot about and because it had Supergirl on the cover I bought it again.  She's barely in it.

The Adventures of Superman Annual 1997

I'm always disappointed by these pulp heroes annuals that don't have a pulp themed story.  Upon reading this it occurred to me that perhaps it's just that I don't know what it meant by 'pulp'.  The letters section was intriguing as everyone was complaining about the blue and red Superman.  It reminded me of all our kvetching about Supes' new solar flare power.  Oops.  Perhaps we should just roll with it...

Convergence week 1

I'm getting them all!  Reviews upcoming. With spoilers.  You have been warned.  Danger Club 8 I will leave until I have the second alternate ending,

Convergence 1
I think this is mostly the mean heroes from Earth 2, with a Grayson who was married to Barbara Gordon,  Their world has been destroyed and Telos is setting the scene for the fights.   I guess not all these heroes are mean.  Young Jay Garrick, Black Superman and Gay Alan Scott are here.  Fairly enjoyable.

These tie ins are all from the post millenium years, post Final Crisis, probably set in the years just before Flashpoint happened.  Which year, I'm not entirely sure,

Convergence: Batgirl 1
Steph has been chosen as fighter for her Gotham. She fights Catman and then Gorilla Grodd. Oh dear, she's not that good.  We get to see how Steph has spent her year under the dome which was pretty good, although I'm not sure I buy Steph being so happy out of costume.  However there is lots of Cass and TimRobin too. :)

Convergence Justice League 1
The lady Justice League are in Gotham for Jesse Quick's baby shower, which turns into her labour.  For some reason she is put on a stretcher when she gets to hospital.  I can't help thinking she'd be better walking, she doesn't look in that much pain.  Maybe they do things differently in the States,  I really like the art on the first couple of pages where Supergirl is rushing Jess to hospital.

Mera is sad about not having Arthur around (fair play, she's essentially grieving and we all have bad and good days) and then Flashpoint Arthur kidnaps her.  I don't mind Flashpoint Arthur when he's one of several options of Arthur.  I'm not sure I buy Mera not fighting back more when he kidnaps her though.  One punch doesn't seem enough for the level of thuggery he showed.

Convergence: Harley Quinn 1
The cover for this is atrocious.  It's a bad imitation of one of the Gotham City Sirens covers.  Over the year Harley has recovered and is relatively stable, with a normal, loving boyfriend.  Then she is chosen to be this Gotham's champion so Selina and the newly repowered Ivy decides Harley needs her old mania and athletic abilities back, so they drug her.  And she reverts back to the old  Harley.  This makes it a pretty sad issue as she was happy before. :(

Convergence: Superman 1
Here we have a heroic, likeable Superman and Lois, as a couple, loving each other, being good people, in Gotham.  By this point I was starting to think this series was going to be set in all the Gothams, because DC has a constant Bat shaped hard on.  It's getting a bit tedious,

But, then Lois is pregnant!  I really liked this issue, I miss these guys,  Flashpoint Kal, Captain Marvel Lantern and Cyborg turn up and start causing problems.  Flashpoint Bats (Thomas Wayne) wonders what the implications are for Bruce, if this other world exists.

Convergence Batman and Robin 1
Ivy is running Gotham Park, growing produce for everyone in her Gotham.  What is unclear is if she has powers while the dome is up. the costume says yes, the rest of the issues say no.  Bruce and Damian have father-son issues and Jason turns up to confuse things.  Then the Extremists arrive to fight,  I'm not sure who they have to fight, but I guess the Bat posse will want to get involved.

Convergence: Speed Force 1
The font for the cover's title is awful.  Irey and Jai look a bit old on the cover, which is a shame,  Wally, Irey and Jai are trapped in Gotham, separate from Linda.  The dome comes down and they get repowered and Wally decides to go to the world of the Justice Riders (which is a great Elseworlds book) and he drags the kids with him in the speed force.  Then he runs through the different worlds (a fun way to see them) and a cartoon duck (?) speedster catches up with him.  And Flashpoint Wonder Woman turns up to fight.  This was another good issue, tho I expect that I like it for the nostalgia as much as the writing.

Convergence: The Question 1
This is a comic about Renee, Two Face and Helena Bertinelli.  It's written by Greg Rucka.  Of course it's good.  I won't spoil it, i'll just urge you to buy it.

Convergence: The Atom 1
Ray Palmer is the Atom but his tech has gone on the wonk and now only his hand enlarges,  The rest of the Gothamites think of him as a street crazy.  Palmer is desperate to find Slade Wilson and settle old scores, but the dome gets lifted and he gets transported elsewhere to fight Baracuda from the Extremists.  Then it turns out the voice in his head is Ryan Choi, I think.  This was OK, a bit strange, but OK.

Convergence: The Titans 1
Ok. all I remember from this is that Roy gets the chance to have his daughter back and he'll do anything, including kill other heroes, to get her back.  This struck a chord.  I can't put myself in that situation because it's impossible and I will never get my son back (and how it hurts to type that) but I will not call Roy a villain for doing so.

Convergence: Nightwing and Oracle 1
I love seeing these two together.  For some reason Ivy is in her costume, even though she's meant to be depowered under the dome.  Perhaps this is a different Gotham?  I have lost track of which of these issues are set from different universes.  If anyone can point me to a guide to the universes and the Gothams that would be good.
Babs and Dick fight the Hawks, and Sheira's costume design is gorgeous.

Overall I quite enjoyed this weeks comics.  Good fun, even if it doesn't make a lot of sense.  It's not always clear how the heroes know who they have to fight, which is a shame.

Comics review

It's been a while yeah?  I think review might be too formal a word for what I'm about to write.

Wonder Woman 40 and Aquaman 40 both have glorious movie style covers.  I actually rather enjoyed Wondy.  That's probably not a popular opinion, since it's got Donna Troy slaughtering the men on Themscyria.  But I liked it.  I don't care about how she was written pre 52.  I enjoyed this story.  Aquaman 40 was pretty cute, what with Atlanna accepting that Arthur is her son.

Batman/Superman annual 2 I liked, but I don't recall much of.  I think it was someone trying to kill Clark, and because he'd used his solar flare power (which Kara had first, incidentally), he couldn't defend himself with his Kryptonian powers.  I've read a few thoughts from others about how this is meant to be a celebration of Clark. I didn't get that feeling from it, but I did enjoy it.

Red Lanterns 40 was a good ending to the series.  A bit rushed, but what isn't at these times.  It was full of hope, which I'm down with.  Guy is still a Dad (which I love) and no longer a Red Lantern. Sadly losing his rage means he's also lost his facial hair and his shaggy haircut.  I'll admit that I hated his new look at first, and roundly mocked it, but I've grown quite fond of it.

I've just added Harley Quinn to my pull list and this issue (16) is more of the same.  It's fun, but not substantial.  I'm buying these and passing them on to a friend.

Multiversity: Ultra Comics was pretty good. very clever, in a full of itself way, but also a good story which is the important part.  I am really really liking this series.

Convergence 0 was also good and I loved seeing the red skies!  This Superman is a bit of a knob though - he's just not very likeable is he?

Today I picked up the first 11 Convergence titles and I am so excited for them!  All my pre 52 favourites are there!  Roy Harper and Lian, a lady Justice League, Steph and Cass Batgirl with Timmy, Gotham City Sirens, Nightwing and Oracle, Supes and Lois, and Renee Question.  :D

Recent comics purchases

I keep thinking about reviewing the comics I've got recently, but as soon as I start thinking about it my enthusiasm wanes.  I tend to go to the shop every few weeks now and pick up a bit pile that way.

These two lots I bought at some point over the Christmas period:

Of these, I remember Bitch Planet as being spectacular and Batgirl as being not spectacular, mostly for the poor treatment of ASL and Deaf people, as I blogged about here,  Ody-C is memorable for being utterly dull (to my mind).

Of this lot, X-men was fun, Ody-C was dull.  I think I may have put Sex Criminals away without reading it.  Either that or I've lost it...  Justice League United was pretty good and I think has further confirmed that I am a real Legion of Superheroes fan now.. oh dear!

This week I also got my first Elsyia reward through:

It contains the first volume of the comic, a tote bag, stickers, t-shirt, bookmarks and a feather or two.   the art is by Jennie Gyllblad so I know it's going to be a good read.

This week I bought this lot:

I've read Sensation Comics, which was a pleasure as always.  If you prefer the pre 52 Wonder Woman you really should give this title a chance, it's lovely.  The style of art on the cover is pretty horrible but I like the choice of characters in it.  I see Cassandra Sandsmark, a warrior child and other women in WW style outfits.  I like it.

I'm feeling a bit under the weather today, so although my brain is telling me to write a review of Tiny Titans for New readers... I think I'm just going to catch up on comics and prose fiction tonight.  Hope you're all feeling a bit better than I am.

Comics of the last week in November

Spoilers ahead for this lot:

Supergirl 36
It's the new creative arc and lo and behold I actually enjoyed it. This is a good writing team. Art was OK - the first panel was a boobs and butt pose which isn't great, obvs, but the rest was OK. Kara gets full armour and it looks better than the unitard.
The comic opens with Kara working in a coffee shop, frustrated with earth tech (till machines) and a bearded Clark turns up and lectures her. I liked Kara in these scenes. She felt real.

Then she gets whisked to space and introduction d to the crucible academy. This wasn't bad. Nice to see Maxima there. I hope we get to see her back on earth though.

Aquaman 36.
I dip in and out of this title. I bought this one for for the Lego cover (also got the Lego Supergirl cover). It's a strong issue. Good plotting, good writing and good art. I like Mera's catsuit.

Batgirl 35
This is the new creative team.  It's really, really good.  I will be putting this on my pull list.  Black Canary is in it (winner).  The art is kinda reminiscent of the art from Archie/Betty/Veronica type stories.  C'est triple good.

Batman/Superman 16
I got really edgy and grumpy while reading this.  It's a tense story with really touching moments.

Multiversity 3 (4)?
These are all numbered 1 on the cover, it's confusing.  (woe is me, ect ect).  This issue had watchmen, Midnighter and marvel references.  I preferred the previous issue, it made more sense.  Then again, this is Morrison and he's not interested in writing linear easy to understand stories.  I'm sure that as a whole it will all come together.

Sensation Comics 4
Ugh, just check out the boobs and butt pose on the cover it is horrible.  It would be nice if she wasn't twisted so much.  It looks like it's aping Adam Hughes, but for all his faults he doesn't usually create spine twisters.
Inside the comic is much better.  Gilbert Hernandez's Wondy, Supergirl and Mary Marvel art make for a very enjoyable alternative story.  I'm not sure I have a view on the plot or characterisation - it;s maybe rather stilted, but perhaps that's the point - but the art makes it worth reading.
The 50ft Wondy story is quite nice, with a bit of cheeky gender bending at the end.  The final story also has good art and fat Etta - always worthwhile.

Harley Quinn 12
Good fun. Harley has a red and black Peej outfit on.  I bet we'll start seeing that at cons soon.  Peej has named Harls her sidekick and they fight a giant pizza slice then visit Manos, bearer of the infinity rings.

Jonah Hex new 52 volume 2
I'm halfway through this and it's OK so far.  I'm not a big fan of Westerns hence why it's only OK.  I would quite like to read the issues when Jonah gets plumped forward to the present day.

Comic reviews - Smallville 42 to 61

EDIT - Just found this (and others) in my draft posts folder.  Will be posting them over the next week or so.  They look to be about a year old.

I love this series.  I've been reading it digitally, which is why it's numbered to 61 in the title.  It's also released in print and I believe is now up to number 16, Olympus.

The way Smallville mines DC's rich history and folds it into the Smallville style is just perfect.  These issues cover the Valkyrie, Argo, Hollow and Olympus storylines.

Valkyrie I don't much care for, because it focuses on Lana and I never warmed to her.  Argo on the other hand, was a great version of the World of New Krypton (WONK) story from main DCU continuity.  Smallville really does excel at this sort of thing.

Then there's Argo.  Supergirl, the Legion and Booster were all involved in this story.  Booster was desperately trying to prove his worth as a hero.  The Legion's Smallville style costumes were gorgeous.  There is a page where the Legion are recalled from all space and time, and when they gather ready for battle, well, I got chills.

Darn it I'm a Legion fan.

Supergirl's costume is beautiful:

It's sleek, it's practical and it feels like a uniform.  I love Smallville's costumes.  LOVE them.

Talking of the art, Cat Stagg's covers are gorgeous and she draws the actors so well, this one is so obviously Laura van der Voort:

Kara had some great moments.  In Smallville she's always felt like her own person - not a junior rip off of Superman.  She's older than him, more mature and knows more about herself.  Or at least in the TV show she did.  Now Clark has matured they are more like equals.

Hollow focuses on Tess and her relationship with Lex.  It's a good traditional Smallville story of revenge and obsession.  We see how Tess views the world, from her new digital existence, we understand more of Lex, and Black Canary and Mia make a guest appearance. Beni Lobel does the art in this issue:

Then we get Olympus with the arrival of Wonder Woman!  Jorge Jiminez does art. It's beautiful.  We start with a flashback to 20 years ago where Steve Trevor (as a kid) has been washed up on Paradise Island.

How cute it that??!!  Steve and Diana have childhood crushes on each other, and when they meet again in adulthood, once Diana has got to America, they still like each other.  Diana as adult is what I want and understand from a Wonder Woman.  Her language and phrasing marks her out as someone who grew up somewhere else.  The Amazon cultural mores are shown through the way she speaks.  She's bold and heroic. She's noble and intelligent.  She's a warrior.  She comes across Steve in the shower and she's a bit embarrassed at her reaction to him.  It's just perfect you know?  I can now ship Steve and Diana.

Also, Bones makes his Smallville debut and we get reminded that Ma Kent was once the Red Queen.

Here are two of the series covers, again by the very talented Cat Staggs:

Most of this art in this post has been nicked from Supergirl Comic Box Commentary.

Comic reviews - week of 23/04/2014

Reviews ahead for this lovely lot:

 

Spoilers ahead for Larfleeze, Secret Origins 0, Batman/Superman, Justice League United 0, Red Lanterns 30 and Supergirl 30.

Comic reviews for week of 16/04/2014

No spoilers in this review - it's short and sweet.

Ultimate Comics Spidey 200

I wasn’t fussed about this.  Too much blathering about Peter and not enough character moments or story.

Harley Quinn 5

Fun, but not outstanding.

X-Men

The start of a new arc that I am not feeling the love for.

Batman and Aquaman 29

This was good.  The art was spectacular and it had enough Arthur in it to push Bats out of the limelight, so I was happy.

Batman and Wonder Woman 30

Also pretty good. The art wasn’t so great but it’s always a pleasure to see Batman and Wondy together.

Wonder Woman 30

The Amazons are back but Hippolyta isn’t.  This didn’t have the thrill of last month’s issue but was solid enough.

I think I’m losing enthusiasm for some of my pull list because I know I’m going to have to cancel them soon.  We won’t have enough money for me to keep buying comics and we certainly don’t have the space.  Because I know I’m going to spend a few years out of the loop I don’t want to read monthly instalments, I want to get lost in big story arcs and hundreds of issues at a time.

For example, I’m reading Secret Invasion and all associated tie–ins (about 100 issues) at the moment.  I read Civil War and House of M recently as I’m trying to get a handle on the Marvel universe.  I’m not going to the dark side, I still prefer the DC universe, but I’m enjoying what I’m reading.  The most enjoyable issues so far are Secret Invasion itself,  New Avengers, Front Line, Runaways & Young Avengers and the Spidey tie-in.  Guardians of the Galaxy, the group that Black Bolt belongs to and Deadpool are not as bad as I thought they’d be, but I am not finding myself moved enough to really care about the characters.  I am very much enjoying the chaos of the secret invasion.

But back to my pull list.  I am currently getting:

Forever Evil, Supergirl (and the Red Lanterns with Kara in) Wonder Woman, Adventures of Superman, Larfleeze, Batman/Superman, Smallville (although I haven’t read it in, I get it on comixology so can catch up at any time), Hawkeye, X-Men, Danger Club, Princeless, Revival.

Of these, I’m going to cancel Larfleeze, X-Men and Revival immediately.  Forever Evil has just one issue to go so I may as well get that.  Hawkeye I will cancel after the June issue as that’s the ASL issue.  I don’t know what’s happening with Princeless or Danger Club but I expect to cancel those from the end of May.  Smallville I will continue to get as and when on comixology.  Wonder Woman I will stop getting once Azzarello and Chiang have left.

That leaves me with Supergirl, Red Lanterns, Adventures of Superman and Batman/Superman.  The latter two of which I love, the former two I buy out of a sense of misguided loyalty.  I have to decide whether to keep these on my pull list, cancel the whole pull list and just pop in to buy issues as time and money allows, or whether to go fully digital.  I’m very sad about having to reduce my reading, but money and the baby take precedence.  My problem is I really don’t have a clue how life will change once the baby arrives, other than being very busy and sleep deprived.  That's not really any sort of idea though, is it?

Comic reviews

I'm a little behind.  Well, I'm about 3 weeks behind I think.  This will be a rapid run through.

Spoilers ahead for Hawkeye 17, Revival 18, She-Hulk 2, Sex Criminals 5, Harley Quinn 4, X-Men 12, Hawkeye 18, Supergirl 29, Red Lanterns 29, Larfleeze 9, Wonder Woman 29, Adventures of Superman 11, Forever Evil: Rogues Rebellion 6.

Comic reviews for the week of 26/02/2014

Spoilers ahead for Lois Lane One shot 1, Hawkeye 15, Batman/Superman 8, Larfleeze 8, Adventures of Superman 10, My Little Pony: Friends Forever 2.  Big spoilers.  Do not click through until you've read these comics, especially Hawkeye and Adventures of Superman.

Comics review for the week of 18/02/2014

This will cover Ms Marvel #1, She-Hulk #1, Batwoman #13 - 17, JLA's Vibe, Batman L'il Gotham #9-24, DC's Young Romance (2013), X-Men #11, Harley Quinn #3, Wonder Woman #28, Supergirl #28.  Clearly these will only be short reviews as I've read a lot.  Spoilers after the break.

Comic reviews

Over the last two weeks I have read X-Men 10, Forever Evil 5, Forever Evil: Rogues Rebellion 5, Green Lantern/Red Lantern 28 and World's Finest Annual 1.
Spoilers after the break.

Moar comic reviews!

So I got those books back in November and I never talked about them.  Here's a few brief thoughts:

Supergirl: Part of the H'el on Earth crossover.  Actually not bad.  Didn't make me want to buy the other issues in the crossover though.

Sex Criminals I talked about on the last review post.

Forever Evil: Rogues Rebellion, probably issue 2: I recall thinking this wasn't as strong as issue 1.

X-Men: I had to ask friends who this lady with the make up was.  I liked this issue a lot.  Good shiz.

Harley 0: Great stuff. Really great.  Cleverly told, lots of different artists who all worked really well together. The unknown who won the competition turned out to be not so unknown, but my main comment on his piece was that it wasn't very interesting.  His work was technically competent and his style is very 'now' but it was also pretty dull, to my eyes.

Wonder Woman: I can't remember what happens in this issue.

Old comic reviews!

Covering Cataclysm Ultimate Spider-man 1, Fearless Defenders 11 and 12, Sex Criminals 1 -3, Revival 15, Adventures of Superman (can't remember the number), Hawkeye (can't remember the number), Larfleeze 3.

Probably not got any spoilers ahead because they came out so long ago I've forgotten the details!



Cataclysm Ultimate Spider-man 1
As I said in my review of #3, this is better than the previous Ultimate Spidey issues.  And that's all I can remember.


Fearless Defenders 11 and 12
I am absolutely gutted this series has ended.  Despite the occasioanlly dodgy art, this is the series that I would, without a doubt, hand to new readers of comics, who like adventure stories, smart women and fun writing.  Fearless Defenders is absolutley bloody fabulous and it's a bloody disgrace it's been cancelled.

Sex Criminals 1 -3
This series is great and has beautiful depictions of orgasms.  It's not about people who committ sex offences.  It's about two people who stop time whenever they orgasm so use that opportunity to rob a bank.  It's clearly not suitable for kids, but it's not smutty or filthy either.  It's a breath of fresh air.

Revival 15
Much like issue 16, I have no bloody clue what's going on here.

Adventures of Superman (can't remember the number) and Hawkeye (can't remember the number)
I can't remember what happened in these issues.

Larfleeze 3
All I remember of this is humourous dialogue and Scott Kolins beautiful art.  Worth buying. 4/5.

Comic reviews!

Hell I haven't done these in a long time.  Here goes nothing.
Spoilers ahead for the following:

This week's comics

This week I read Supergirl 24, Hawkeye 13, Batman/Superman 4, Animal Man 24, Forever Evil: Rogues Rebellion 1, Wonder Woman 24.

I think the surprise winner this week was Forever Evil: Rogues Revenge.  I do like a good Rogues story.  Animal Man is leaving me a bit cold, even though Ellen has now made up with Buddy, which you'd think I'd enjoy.  Supergirl was OK, a fast resolution to the Zor-El/Kara sharing a body thing, which is fine, but the art in it was shockingly bad for the most part.

Hawkeye I enjoyed but it's been so long since the last issue I'd forgotten all the background.  Batman/Superman was pretty but I no longer have any idea what is going on.  Wonder Woman was fab - the ramifications to Di becoming God of War are starting.