New Comic Day 3.31.2010

After a couple of "deeper" blogs, it's back to the ennui....

Medium week this time around, 4 titles.

Blackest Night #8

Written by GEOFF JOHNS
Art and Cover by IVAN REIS
OCLAIR ALBERT and JOE PRADO
1:25 Variant Cover by RODOLFO MIGLIARI
1:100 Sketch variant Cover by IVAN REIS

The extra-sized conclusion to the most talked-about event in comics is here, and the results will change the course of the DC Universe for years to come. Earth has become the final battleground for life versus death, but how will our heroes fight back against the darkness of sentient space itself? And what does the future hold for Green Lantern, The Flash and the rest of the world's greatest heroes and villains? Find out here as the stage is set for the next epic era of DC Comics!

Well, I think Blackest Night, as a crossover event, was a pretty successful project. It didn't get too sprawling for it's own good, and it also didn't feel like an apology for 10 years of bad choices. **cough**Siege**cough** that said, I'm really to move on and see what Brightest Day will bring us. Particularly because it feel like a whole-line effort, and that means far more self-contained stories tying to the larger tapestry. Much easier to follow.

OHHHH...More variant covers!! **FACEPALM**

Didn't we learn anything from the 90's?

Detective Comics #863

Written by GREG RUCKA
Art by JOCK
Co-feature Art by CULLY HAMNER
Cover by JH WILLIAMS III

When Batman and Batwoman each face off against a knife-wielding killer, they soon find themselves working different sides of the same case. But will they arrive in time to rescue the missing girl and stop the killer from claiming another victim? Things do not end well in "Cutter" Part 3.

And in The Question, the mastermind behind the human trafficking ring and the gunrunning scheme is finally revealed, and The Question and the Huntress find themselves in the fight of their lives.

Rucka is really kicking it with this title, he's been waiting a long time to do an ongoing with Batwoman, and he's really hitting all the right notes. I'm really hoping DC continues to find a place for a Rucka-penned Batwoman title once we hit "The Return of Bruce Wayne" this summer.

Gotham City Sirens #10

Written by PAUL DINI
Art and Cover by GUILLEM MARCH

Is The Riddler friend or foe? One thing's for sure – he definitely isn't making life easy for Catwoman, Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn!

Ok, I keep saying it, but this time I mean it...I AM DROPPING THIS TITLE. I will probably not even pick up this issue. I kept waiting for Dini to really kick it in and get me wrapped up in the girl's story...He's certainly been on the ball over on Batman: Streets of Gotham. Alas, I can't wait anymore. The new Flash series is starting soon, and I need to clear some slots in the pull list. This and Power Girl, once Palmiotti, Gray and Amanda Conner move on, are the obvious choices.

Justice League of America #43

Written by JAMES ROBINSON
Art by MARK BAGLEY and ROB HUNTER
1:25 Variant Cover by MIKE MAYHEW

Following the decision that occurred in JUSTICE LEAGUE: CRY FOR JUSTICE and the events of JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE RISE AND FALL SPECIAL #1, the World's Greatest Heroes must come to terms with who they are and what they represent. Meanwhile, an all-new danger threatens the existence of everything past and present in the exciting finale of "Team History."

I'm buying this for Bagley's art, as I think I've said before. It's worth my money for that, but man...Between the Cry For Justice stillbirth, and what they're trying to do with Green Arrow, Robinson has pretty much written himself into a place where I'm only concerned for the art.

Come on, guys, this ought to be a flagship title, why does it feel like sloppy seconds?

New Comics 12.23.2009

Ahh, the Christmas week Wednesday release.

Detective Comics #860

Written by Greg Rucka
Art by JH Williams III
co-feature art by Cully Hamner
Cover by JH Williams III
Variant cover by Alex Ross

I've become rather taken with the new Batwoman character, and, certainly, Rucka and Williams are running hot on this book right now. The art is beautiful, and the story is snappy. When they first introduced this character, the whole push seemed to be about the fact that our new Batwoman was a lesbian. That was hardly interesting, to me. However, Rucka has proved adept at letting that fact be prevalent while not taking over the story. Excellent run.

Gotham City Sirens #7

Written by Paul Dini
Art and cover by Guillem March

This will, likely, be my last issue of this title. Unless this issue blows me away, I'll be dropping the book. Pretty much unheardof for me to drop a book written by Paul Dini, but this series just leaves me cold. I love Harley Quinn and Catwoman, Poison Ivy can certainly be used in interesting ways, but I don't think it's ever gelled. The art isn't even hitting me enough to keep it for the cheesecake factor.

Green Lantern #49

Written by Geoff Johns
Art and cover by Ed Benes
Variant cover by Rodolfo Migliari

Darkest Night rolls on and on. The strands are there, and holding, but, on a whole, The Sinestro Corps War is going to be Geoff Johns' all-time great Green Lantern story, and Darkest Night will be the also-ran. That's not to say it's BAD, because it's not. I'm certainly involved and want to see the end. I guess I just expected more.

Captain America Reborn:
Who Will Wield the Shield #1

COVER BY: Gerald Parel
WRITER: Ed Brubaker
PENCILS: Butch Guice
INKS: Array

OK, so....Captain America Reborn is plowing along. I'm sure this one-shot will get pulled for me, and I'll probably just buy it. However....Who are they kidding? When Steve Rogers is back from the dead, he'll be Captain America. Steve Rogers IS Captain America, former sidekick Bucky Barnes is filling in, generating some decent stories, but if Steve is back to life and NOT Captain Ameirca, I'm done with this series, and probably the entirety of the mainstream Marvel line.

The Comic Day from Hell 11.25.2009

Huge week, and I won't be able to pick it up until next Wednesday, most likely.

Annoying.

Frankly, I am in a really poor mood today, and I really don't have much of anything to say about these books. I'll buy them, I'll read them.

Blackest Night #5 (of 8)

Written by Geoff Johns
Art and cover by Ivan Reis and Oclair Albert
Variant cover by Rodolfo Migliari
Sketch variant cover by Ivan Reis and Oclair Albert

Detective Comics #859

Written by Greg Rucka
Art by JH Williams III
Co-feature art by Cully Hamner
Cover by JH Williams III
Variant cover by Jock

Gotham City Sirens #6

Written by Paul Dini
Art and cover by Guillem March

Green Lantern #48

Written by Geoff Johns
Art and cover by Doug Mahnke and Christian Alamy
Variant cover by Rags Morales

Justice League: Cry for Justice #5 (of 7)

Written by James Robinson
Art and cover by Mauro Cascioli

Justice League of America #39

Written by James Robinson
Art and cover by Mark Bagley

Superman: Secret Origin #3 (of 6)

Written by Geoff Johns
Art by Gary Frank and Jon Sibal
Covers by Gary Frank

Ultimate comics Avengers #4

COVER BY: Carlos Pacheco
WRITER: Mark Millar
PENCILS: Carlos Pacheco
INKS: Dexter Vines
COLORED BY: Justin Ponsor
LETTERED BY: VC - Cory Petit

New Comic Wednesday 10.28.2009

Well, two light weeks mean...heavy week on the way.

And it's here.

Ambush Bug: Year None #7 (of 6)

Written by Keith Giffen and Robert Loren Fleming
Art by Keith Giffen and Al Milgrom
Cover by Darwyn Cooke

Ahh, FINALLY! I've been waiting for this bugger to wrap up for, God, has it been half a year? More? Was the delay a intended part of the scathing satire of modern comics that is the whole point of the series? "Whatever Happened to AMBUSH BUG YEAR NONE #6?" will hopefully answer those questions.

Batman #692

Written by Tony Daniel
Art by Tony Daniel and Sandu Florea
Cover by Tony Daniel

Tony Daniel comes back to the fold after writing and providing art for The Battle for the Cowl, a mini-series which, while not terrible, didn't blow up my skirt by any reach of the imagination. I had liked what the Judd Winick/Mark Bagly team had brought to the table quite a bit, but I'll let Daniel take a run. It's not like I'm dropping this book.

Blackest Night #4 (of 8)

Written by Geoff Johns
Art and cover by Ivan Reis and Oclair Albert
Variant cover by Ethan Van Sciver
Sketch variant cover by Ivan Reis

"Variant cover," sketch variant cover".....**SHIVER** Thank God Geoff John's writing is solid enough to hold up under the marketing machine. The pieces of this puzzle are starting to fit, with the introduction of the Indigo Lanterns and the revelations that the Black Lanterns aren't REALLY our favorite characters revived. That said, this is where "secrets are revealed," and I really do not want Johns to drop the ball.

Detective Comics #858

Written by Greg Rucka
Art by JH Williams III
co-feature art by Cully Hamner
Cover by JH Williams III
Variant cover by Adam Hughes

A Batman title with no Batman? (well, none of them have "BATMAN" at this point.) This is the one that's working on all cylinders at this point. The Batwoman lead feature is well written with, flat-out, amazing art, and the Question back-up feature is kicking ass, as well. A rare title where a $3.99 price tag doesn't phase me at all.

Gotham City Sirens #5

Written by Paul Dini
Art and cover by Guillem March

I keep saying I'm going to drop this book, but I keep buying it. Right now, it's the only regular series Dini is writing. So, I suppose that's a reason. It is attempting to tie-in with the main Bat-storyline, but the series seems so far out on the edge of everything, I have to struggle to care. March can draw ladies real nice, I admit.

Green Lantern #47

Written by Geoff Johns
Art and cover by Doug Mahnke and Christian Alamy
Variant cover by Ed Benes

I always wonder how an artist like Mahnke can stay pretty much on schedule for a monthly book like Green Lantern, while, say Ethan Van Sciver seems to slip further and further behind on Flash:Rebirth? (Maybe it has something to do with Van Sciver's constant Facebook complaints about Obama?) I love the Pretty Indigo Lantern cover, and as in the Blackest Night rundown above, the story is working for me. Go Geoff Johns, Go!

Superman: Secret Origin #2 (of 6)

Written by Geoff Johns
Art by Gary Frank and Jon Sibal
Covers by Gary Frank

I picked up the first issue out of a sense of curiosity, and a respect for the creators. The first issue was fun enough to warrant a second. However, it just keeps nagging at me...Do we need ANOTHER re-telling of the Superman origin? Also, did DC just plan to put out all of Geoff Johns' series in one week? Are you trying to bankrupt me?

Ultimate Comics Avengers #3

COVER BY: Carlos Pacheco
WRITER: Mark Millar
PENCILS: Carlos Pacheco
INKS: Danny Miki|Dexter Vines
COLORED BY: Justin Ponsor
LETTERED BY: VC - Cory Petit

What's happening in this book again? Something to do with a new super-team, after the Ultimatum cock-up, that's "under the radar?" Oh yeah, and Ultimate Red Skull...THAT'S why I'm reading!

One final thought:

Here's a question I'd like to ask Joey Quesada over at marvel...How come you can't put out a decent Fantastic Four book? I WANT to buy a Fantastic Four book...I'm dying to. Benjamin J. Grimm is an almost perfect creation. Why has it sucked since YOU fired Mark Waid and (God rest his soul) Mike Weringo?!?

It's wednesday again!

And what a blissfully light week it is...only 2 titles, and both under $3!

Gotham City Sirens #4

Written by Paul Dini
Art and cover by Guillem March

Ah, Paul...Really, I'm LOVING Batman: Streets of Gotham, it's classic Batman storytelling transferred into the post-Morrison "New Batman" era.

However....

I know you have a thing for the girls of the DC Universe, and the Batman girls, in particular, as the creator of Harley Quinn, we can thank you for that. You've used this to great effect when you were writing for Batman: The Animated Series, giving us some terrific "side stories," getting us away from the staid Dark Knight for 20 minutes. The thing is, what works as a "one off" TV episode is not enough to hang an ongoing series on. Gotham City Sirens reads like "Paul Dini's fetish show," it's a great fetish, I dig it, but....the series seems really thin.

Green Lantern #46

Written by Geoff Johns
Art and cover by Doug Mahnke and Christian Alamy
Variant cover by Andy Kubert

Geoff Johns was born to write mainstream comics. There are other comic writers that might be better, more technically proficient, or adventurous in terms of structure, but Johns is the guy who sits down with the sandbox he's given and starts seeing all the things that can be done with that sand without breaking the box. His work is always good, sometimes inspired. His Superman: Secret Origin went from something I thought would be a pointless retread to pretty darn interesting in one issue, kudos. (The Gary Frank "I'm just going to draw Christopher Reeve, OK?" artwork only adds to the package.)

But I digress....

Johns has been building up to this Blackest Night event for a long, long time. Through the Green Lantern: Rebirth return of Hal Jordan, through The Sinestro Corps War, and the constant build up to Blackest Night in the Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps series over the past year. All of that material has been terrific, Johns in full creative flight...

So why am I feeling "Meh" about Blackest Night now that it's here? I trust Johns, and I'm in for the long haul on his Green Lantern era. It's just that, for all the build-up, I'm just thinking "huh, Zombies...great."

Now, since this is a very light week, I usually use that for an opportunity to pick up something that I haven't been, and with Wednesday Comics now done dealing, I have a bit in the budget to play with, so....I MIGHT pick these up this week.

Batman: Widening Gyre #1 & #2

Written by Kevin Smith
Art by Walter Flanagan and Art Thibert
Cover by Bill Sienkiewicz

Earlier this year, Kevin Smith and Walt Flanagan (of View Askew movie pseudo-fame) jumped into the DCU with Batman: Cacophony. A really enjoyable little tale using a villian Smith created for his run on Green Arrow years back, Onomatopoeia, who's gimmick was that he didn't speak except in sound effects. He would, literally, say "BANG! BANG!" when firing a gun, for example. I found the tale fun enough, and Smith did some really twisted things with The Joker, that some folks objected to...Me? I just figure...He's crazy, right? I don't see why people are so willing to accept a twisted character in the terms of violence, but when it touches on something sexual...it's "defiling" the character.

How, exactly, do you defile a character like The Joker?

Anyway, long story shot...I enjoyed the previous mini-series, so I'll might give this one a shot.

New Comic Wednesday 7/29/2009

DETECTIVE COMICS #855 $3.99
Writer: Greg Rucka
Artist: JH Williams III
Co-Feature Artist: Cully Hamner

The second issue with Batwoman as our star attraction. Also the second issue at the $3.99 price point, and The Question back-up feature. Like most of the post-Battle for the Cowl Batman titles, this is holding on pretty strong. Rucka has built a pretty solid story, and Williams' art is amazing.


JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #35 $2.99
Writer: Len Wein
Artists: Tom Derenick and Pow Rodrix

So, now it falls on Len Wein to try to make this title interesting. Really JLA has been a meandering mess for months and months, but I hold on. First it was because I knew former writer Dwayne McDuffie was struggling under editorial mandate, and forced to spin his wheels a lot. Then he was fired for speaking out about the situation. I like him a lot.

Now, I'm holding on because James Robinson and Mark Bagley are taking over this title in 2 months, and Bagly is my favorite artist working right now.


WEDNESDAY COMICS #4 (OF 12) $3.99
Writers: Various
Artists: Various

I love this series, I love the concept and the art still looks gorgeous on the oversized pages. That being said the $3.99 price point is a bear for a weekly title. I doubt I'll stick around after the first 12-issue cycle.



ULTIMATUM SPIDER-MAN REQUIEM #2 (OF 2) $3.99
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artists: Mark Bagley and Stuart Immonen

...And, with this issue I can finally jump off this sinking ship. Marvel had one series that I was fully dedicated to, Ultimate Spider-Man. I had EVERY, SINGLE ISSUE. I loved it. Then, they slapped this Ultimatum crossover into the picture, and frankly threw the finely crafted work Brian Michael Bendis was doing on this series into a wood chipper.

Yes, the series re-starts in a couple of months. Stupid foil cover and all. However, I already feel kicked in the nuts. So, bye-bye Ultimate Spidey....I surely loved following your story.

Finallly a holdover released last week:


GOTHAM CITY SIRENS #2 $2.99
Writer: Paul Dini
Artist: Guillem March

I'm not really sold on this series. It's obviously the weakest link in the post-Battle for the Cowl Batman line. This despite one of my favorite writers, Paul Dini. The man was writing the best Batman comics around, in Detective Comics, for the lat couple of years, in the face of Grant Morrison's high-concept misfires over in the Batman title. Dini held the line, telling compelling one-off, well, detective tales.

But this series seems a little off. Almost like Dini is indulging his own fetishes a bit too much.