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 #38

There’s no messing around with the Hal Jordan-as-a-Red Lantern stuff from the end of the last issue. It’s dealt with by the middle of the book, in a way that puts a lot of emphasis on why the Blue Lanterns exist. Of course there’s a  downside in that it unfortunately destroys my theory that Hal Jordan would control all the rings by the end of the War of Light.

There’s a lot to enjoy in this book. The way it jumped from Ysmault to Earth to Qward to the Vega System providing little hooks into future storylines. Like Carol Ferris returning to the Star Sapphires (now Violet Lanterns) after playing a major part in their formation way back in The Sins of the Star Sapphires story arc; Sinestro escaping back to Qward to prepare for his incursion into the Green Lantern Corps book to face off against Mongul for the leadership of Sinestro’s eponymous Corps; and the Controllers heading to the Vega System to remind everyone that the Agent Orange story starts next month.

As the Blackest Night mini-event gets closer both Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps books are picking up a lot of momentum, especially this book. I still remember how slowly Secret Origin plodded along just to set up Atrocitus as the Red Lantern big bad, so I really shouldn’t complain about pacing. I got what I wished for.

X-Force #12

Back in New X-Men Kyle and Yost spun some really great tales featuring the kids versus long time X-Men foes like Reverend Stryker. When they announced the move to X-Force (along with initial character sketches) I was, much like the rest of the internet, immediately skeptical. A year later I’m happy to say that I was wrong. X-Force is good. Better than it deserves to be, for sure, But I like it.

Well ‘liked’ might be a better word. This issue was just very, very underwhelming.

It starts off with the team quickly realising that they weren’t exactly successful in keeping Bastion from the getting his robot hands on the Legacy Virus (as seen last issue). D-grade mutants start showing up in the middle of pro-human rallys, with their powers flaring wildly out of control, killing all the protesters.

Apart from that, not a whole lot actually happens this issue. There is an incredibly awkward exchange between Rahne, in wolf-humanoid form, and some sort of Asgardian wolf-god. But the less said about that the better.

If I was going to choose a shining moment it would be finding out, on the recap page of all places, that Domino has a real name.

Just so I don’t end on a downer I thought I’d mention the colouring. The usual muted grey/brown palette gets a huge kick this issue with the addition bright oranges and pinks of the energy spikes spinning off the Legacy Virus-infected.

———–

I’m off on holiday next week, so no reviews for a couple of weeks. Once I’m settled in I’ll be changing the reviews up a bit. I’m running low of the spare time needed to properly review a books so I’ll just be reviewing the one book each week. I’m going to randomly pick the book out of the weekly pile so it could be the worst or it could be the best.

Complete List

Green Lantern #38
Trinity #39
Avengers: Initiative #22
Mighty Avengers #22
Ms Marvel #36
New Avengers #50
Runaways vol 3 #7
Thunderbolts #129
X-Force #12
Wizard Magazine #210
Angel #18

Final Crisis #7 (of 7)

Well this was certainly something.

If you didn’t read Superman: Beyond before this final issue I would imagine that this would come across as a garbled mess.  Even after reading S:B, it still has a lot of rough edges.

It’s main strength is that it doesn’t play out as a typical event line-wide comic (though it is hindered by misdirected marketing on DC’s behalf). There’s no great universal upheaval that affects every single character. This is Superman’s story and, to a lesser extent, Batman’s. But it is enjoyable, and that’s the main point.

Like all serial minis there’s a lot of questions left unanswered. I could write these down, but instead I’ll direct you to The Final Crisis FAQ project over at Comics Should Be Good. They seem to be doing a better job of it.

Legion of Super Heroes #50

Wow. I take back everything I said about Final Crisis’ empty ending.

I’m well aware that Jim Shooter had to hack at the main plotlines he’d been building for the past year, but this is just ridiculous. What should be a huge monumental battle between good and evil is not much more than a skirmish between seven Legionaries and a handful of bad guys.

The dangling thread about the fate of Dream Girl, something given all of three panels over the last four issues,  is given a resolution at the very end, but with most of the work seemingly handled off panel it just comes across as filler. Then there’s the big reveal last issue of Princess Projectra being the final Big Bad. But that’s completely dropped.

I’ve only read one issue of Geoff John’s Superman and the Legion of Superheroes and the two issues of Legion of Three Worlds, but they’ve been a lot more fun to read than the last year or so of this series. I guess that’s the major problem I had with this title. Jim Shooter forgot to make it fun, and it suffered for that.

Long live the Legion!

Note: I’ve read that Jim Shooter didn’t even write this last issue. Can’t wait to here the story behind that.

New Avengers #49

I sat down to read this fully expecting that the “search for the baby” plot would be stretched out for at least six issues. That Bendis managed to resolve it in under 22 pages, with next-to-no decompression, is nothing less than a small miracle.

If Bendis can keep that pace up for at least half a year then I’ll be a happy guy.

Complete List

Final Crisis #7 (of 7)
Legion of Super Heroes #50
Trinity #35
Avengers Initiative #21
Ms Marvel #35
New Avengers #49
Runaways 3 #6
X-Force #11
Wizard Magazine #209 Dark Avengers Cvr

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