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

Buffy the Vampire Slayer #22

So, they’re really running with that whole “vampires aren’t that bad” thing? It’s not some crazed fever dream? Brave move that.

This is yet another ‘done in one’ that puts the focus on one member of the Buffyverse, this time Satsu, only the second person to share “special hugs” with Buffy and not die a horrible death.

There’s not a lot of plot here: Kennedy is sent to Japan to evaluate Satsu’s performance as leader of the Japanese slayer expansion (that seems to solely consist of Satsu herself). When not fighting demonic Hello Kitty-esque toys, they engage in a lot of back and forth banter to bed-in that they’re real honest to goodness lesbians just like you see on TV. And then there’s that ending that involves a flare, a giant Voltron-style monster, a secret weapon that almost, almost makes up for the boring bits in the preceding 20 pages.

There’s a lot of retreading here. Reiterating things established long ago in the Buffyverse. Yes, Satsu likes Buffy (Season 8) Yes, she’s a lesbian (season 8). Yes, Kennedy is too (season 7). Yes, vampires are now the ‘in thing’ (last issue!)

This season has to be finishing up sometime soon. I do wish they’d hurry up and build on the Twilight threat already.

Final Crisis: Legion Of Three Worlds #3 (of 5)

If you’re going to do a story that features three times as many characters as normal then you’d better lock George Perez down. And if you’re going to feature Superboy-Prime as the main antagonist then you’d better lock down Geoff Johns. Lucky for us DC have done just that.

Now they’ve also marked this as a Final Crisis tie-in (even though the main story finished last week, but hey, time travel!) it’s more of a thematic sequel to the Sinestro Corps War and Lightning Saga with a bit of Infinite Crisis thrown in for good measure. So basically all the major ‘events’ that Geoff Johns has been working on for the last five or so years.

So maybe thats the hook into Final Crisis? Geoff John’s examination of the last five years of his career, matched up with Grant Morrison’s examination of the last ten years of his.

But I could just be clutching at straws.

George Perez does some amazing work here. Filling every panel, every page to bursting point with heroes, villains and plenty of action. Last issue ended with the Legionnaires facing off against their analogues in the Legion of Super-Villains, while Brainiac 5 summoned two alternate universe versions of the Legion to assist in the battle. This issue opens with the battle still raging and the Legion getting beaten back to their headquarters. The alternate Legions — minus every Lightning Lad, XS and one Light Lass — fly out to join the battle in an incredible Perez splash page. Brainiac 5 uses those remaining to bring back the one character everyone knew was coming (telegraphed way back in Lightning Saga). But that doesn’t make it less impressive when they do arrive.

It’s pure, dumb fun. The only downside is that we now have to wait seven weeks until #4. really DC, thats the best you could do?

Complete List

Buffy the Vampire Slayer #22
Final Crisis: Legion Of Three Worlds #3 (of 5)
Secret Six #6
Trinity #36
Secret Warriors #1