Detective Comics #854

My only brush with Greg Rucka came through his work on 52. Where he put a lot of work into the entwined stories of  Batwoman and The Question. So I guess it’s only fitting that I get reacquainted with his work through a book that stars those two characters. Yes I’m aware they had their own post-52 miniseries, but I didn’t read that as, to me , that particular story seemed to have been played out in the pages of 52 already.

At first glance the Kate Kane in this book seems vastly different than that one who appeared in 52. She’s less a socialite and more of an army brat. She’s got tattoos and it’s implied she sleeps (or slept) around. Yes, she’s still a lesbian, and yes it comes up but only in a way to flesh out her “committed to the mission” mindset.

Before this book, id you’d asked me to point out art by JH Williams I woul’dve had no chance. Would not know him from a bar of soap. After reading this book I have every panel burnt out to my brian. In a good way of course. And the panel layout. Wow. There’s one two page sequence depicting that I loved. A series of lightning bolt panels depicts Batwoman talking to Batman then heading back to base and changing back into civillian clothes, underscored by a shot of Batwoman, on her motorcycle, shooting across the page.

There’s this incredible amount of energy that crackles off every page.

Meanwhile over in the Question backup…sorry “co-feature”, Renee Montoya seems to have become DC’s answer to the Heroes for Hire. Using an email account and/or website to solicit investigative work. Her first case pitting her against human traffickers.

It reads like it was originally pitched as a full length story that’s been slimmed down through precise cuts. Nothing is missing really, but there’s no great explanation of the bad guy possible motives, just that he’s the damn bad guy.

Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Utopia #1

After the letdown of an event that was Brian Michael Bendis’ Secret Invasion I harboured a feeling that, given half a chance, Matt Fraction could easy write the next Marvel event. And here it is.

I’m glad it’s not a company-wide thing as I really couldn’t handle another one of those from Marvel. But it does carry the Dark Reign tag, which I cna’t really get enthused about. Even though most of the Marvel side of my pull list involves Dark Reign in some way.

The story seems organic enough. At the end of Secret Invasion, when Norman Osbourne was given the job of…well whatever the hell it is he actually does, he put all mutants on notice. Telling Emma Frost that if they couldn’t control themselves then he would. Or words to that effect.

In this first issue of the indeterminately long miniseries (there’s no “#1 of #3″ on the cover, just “Chapter One”) Simon Trask organises a march on San Fransisco in support of a new law to sterilise all mutants, which of course leads to all hell breaking loose. Really, nobody watched the first 10 minutes of Die Hard 3?

With half of San Fransisco on fire Norman Osbourne makes good on his promise and sends in the Dark Avengers to control things. Which of course they don’t because they’re all psychopaths. Then Norman takes Emma Frost aside reitterates whats he first told her and then promotes her to Leader of All Mutants. Charles Xavier shows up to talk down Cyclops, but it’s revealed to the  reader that the real Charles Xavier is lying in a prison cell with his brain leaking down his shirt. None of which makes a whole lot of a sense.

But, this is only the first issue, and I’ve got enough faith that Fraction will spin out a few interesting concepts before bringing everything to a decent conclusion.

Of  course Marvel get full praise for keeping Greg Land as far from this story as possible. Marc Silvestri handles the art in a passable fashion. It’s a lot more basic than his linework from back when Grant Morrison wrote the book, with most of the humans looking like scarecrows. And a small but significant drawing of a continuity-breaking, male Loki.

Complete List

Detective Comics #854
Green Lantern #42
Astonishing X-Men #30
Avengers: Initiative #25
Dark Avengers #6
Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Utopia #1
Immortal Iron Fist TP Vol 04 Mortal Iron Fist
Ms Marvel #40
New Avengers #54
Runaways 3 #11
Secret Warriors #5
Thunderbolts #133
Uncanny X-Men #512
X-Factor #45
X-Force #16
Wizard Magazine #214

Green Lantern #37

Originally I wasn’t going to review this book, but when the Irrepressible Rory Byrne demands you read it,  adding “You will shit bricks” you’re required to at least put a few words down.

So here we go.

At the end of the last issue there was this great expectation, from Space Ganesh and the other guy,  that Hal Jordan would become the leader of the Blue Lanterns. This issue starts out with him “politely” refusing the offer before tearing off on the two space hippies and heading after Sinestro, who’s been spending his spare time crucified on the Red Lantern’s central battery after being captured during the Rage of the Red Lanterns one shot.

There’s some clear delineation between the three rings: Green are cops, Red are animals and Blue are saints. They later live up to the bible metaphor by parting an actual red sea. The true nature of the red spectrum is explored a bit more. It seems that the rings are little more then parasites. After purging the host body’s blood they take over motor functions and most thought processes. Much like those horrific wasps that ride around on cockroaches.

While it’s not the first time Hal Jordan has worn multiple rings (see here and here) that chapter ending definitely rates as one of the coolest moments of this entire Green Lantern volume. Yes, Rory, bricks were shat.

Dark Avengers #1

There’s two ways they could’ve gone in this issue:

• through a series of small interconnected scenes, show “the boss” travelling around putting the team together through a number of every expanding word balloons; or
• something interesting.

Guess which road Bendis went down?

I’m probably being too harsh here as the book isn’t a total wash. They’ve got Mike Deodato on art  for one thing, continuing the good work he did on Thunderbolts. I thought the expressions on each of the ex-Thunderbolts, especially Bullseye’s, as they realise all their dreams have come true were great. Deoadato on art and most of the Thunderbolts starring. They couldn’t have made it any more obvious that this is a continuation of the Thunderbolts line.

Hopefully the new members aren’t going to take the Sentry’s mopey bullshit. If I could have one request, please give me one issue where they beat the ever-loving shit out of him for being such a sad case. Do that and I’m in for the long haul.

Mighty Avengers #21

This is a great example of how to make the Ultimate line redundant. While over in Ultimatum They’ve had to deal with a flood submerging New York, here in the regular old 616, New York has been hit with a deluge of blood, Canada is choked with flesh eating locusts and somewhere else  the New Avengers are being used as fertiliser for fast growing sentient plants and the entire state of Oklahoma has vanished. Suddenly the split second flash flooding in the Ultimate universe doesn’t seem that ultimate anymore.

The recruiting scenes aren’t all that dissimilar to those in Dark Avengers, but they’re carried off a lot better. Biblical-level crazy shit is a great motivator. The book shares a lot of the same beats as Dark Avengers, but the way Slott writes dialogue makes it a much more entertaining read. See Amadeus Cho’s conversations with Pym. Both books also share a similar antagonist. Dark Avengers gets Dr Doom’s ex, Morgane Le Fay while Mighty Avengers has a possessed Quicksilver and some shirtless guy who likes writing on himself

Which book you grab depends on how you like your heroes. Do you like the bad guys masquerading as the world’s heroes, albeit officially? Grab Dark Avengers. Do you like you heroes just doing hero-ey stuff? Grab Mighty Avengers. Do you like your heroes to be the underdogs, struggling to get on in a world where they’re operating illegally? Grab New Avengers. (reviewed next week, fight fans!)

X-Factor #39

There would be a fairly detailed review here. I say “would be” because at the beginning of the book Peter David swears all readers to secrecy and asks that we don’t spoil the book. So I’ll honour that. What I can say is that the book is well on it’s way back to it’s first year levels of awesomeness. After flipping to the back cover I had to sit alone on the couch for a good five minutes just to digest what I’d read. It’s been a long time since a comic had that much of an emotional impact on me. Bravo, Peter David, bravo. Good to see the art back on track after the misstep that was the Stroman period too.

Complete List:

Final Crisis: Superman Beyond #2 (of 2)
Green Lantern #37
Trinity #34
Astonishing X-Men #28
Dark Avengers #1
Mighty Avengers #21
Thunderbolts #128
Uncanny X-Men Annual #2
X-Factor #39
X-Men: Legacy #220
Angel: After the Fall #16

Booster Gold

This is the first issue written by Dan Jurgens, creator of Booster Gold and drawer of said character since issue one of this particular ongoing. This issue is a  lot more light-hearted than the previous issues written by Rick Remender. While adventerous, his issues were completely lacking in charm. But enough about ol’ Rick. How does Booster Gold stand up now?

Better. Much, much better. It’s not quite Geoff Johns level, but this Booster has just the right amount of self-indulgent goofiness and Skeets has the right amount of know-it-all sidekickiness going for him.

I would’ve preferred this to be a done-in-one issue, but it looks like we get another multipart story, spinning out of the storyline Remender followed. Is this Jurgens’ way of ignoring Remender I wonder?

After a cute opening scene with Booster and Goldstar in 16th century Italy looking for food and fame, the story quickly becomes a search for Rip Hunter and their headquarters that seems to have vanished from the timestream. There’s a fun sibling fight then Skeets informs the two that all evidence points to time traveling knife, misplaced during the Killer Moth mission, being the cause and not Goldstar’s posing for a portrait with Leonardo da Vinci as Booster suggested. Booster meets up with future fellow Justice League International teamster Elongated Man, in a scene that would mean a lot more had I grown up reading JLI. Then Booster is flung through time to somewhere next month’s solicit reveals to be World War 1.

This book sits fairly low on the month-by-month sales chart. Lower than Blue Beetle and Birds of Prey. I hope that doesn’t mean that this book is up for cancellation. Though I wouldn’t be too surprised, given DC’s cancel-happy attitude these last few weeks.

Green Lantern Corps #31

Confession time. Kryb scares the every loving shit out of me. This is Kryb:

Seriously, it took all of my willpower just to post that picture.

Not only is she a superpowered baby-stealing alien that runs on fear. Her “milk” also acts as a DNA-specific mind-controlling agent if it gets on your skin. Jesus H. Christ. The only way Kryb could be more creepy is if “she” was a “he”.

Despite the recent ick factor Green Lantern Corps has been great to read. Expanding on the emotional spectrum where the standalone GL book has become more tightly focused.

Yes, we know that the Love Lantern is going to defeat Kryb and break the hold over the other lanterns. Well at least I hope that’s what happens. Before Kryb cuts the baby out of Amnee’s body, thanks. The third law of Oa, “no relationships between Green Lanterns”, is only going to end in disaster. But if the Guardians actually thought things through instead of just reacting to everything then we wouldn’t have the Manhunters or the Alpha Lanterns.

Yes, this book is creepy, but it’s creepy in a “look through your fingers” kind of way. And I love it for that.

Complete Pull List:

Booster Gold #15
Final Crisis #5 (of 7)
Green Lantern Corps #31
Justice Society of America HC Vol 03 Thy Kingdom Come Part 2
Justice League of America #27
Secret Six #4
Trinity #28
Astonishing X-Men: Ghost Boxes #2 (of 2)
Secret Invasion Dark Reign
Wizard Mag 2009 Platinum