My Thoughts On The All-New, All-Different Avengers Preview Comic

So, I went to Heroes’ Beacon and GameZilla for Free Comic Book Day today. Sadly, I can’t upload photos of my trips to either, because my computer, for some strange reason, doesn’t wanna accept SD cards right now. I can’t even begin to understand why. Nonetheless, the point of this article is not to talk about Free Comic Book Day and what I did there, but rather, what I got: All-New, All-Different Avengers.

So, not a whole lot to say, since it’s just a preview of stuff to come. What’s here is good, though. We see the Avengers having to fight Radioactive Man, but something apparently goes wrong when Ms. Marvel (Kamala Khan), Spider-Man (Miles Morales), and Nova (Sam Alexander) are sent to bring him in while Thor (the new female one), Iron Man (presumably Tony Stark, although they can’t seem to recall that Wasp was the one to name the team the Avengers), Vision, and Captain America (Sam Wilson) deal with…erm, Radioactive Man’s giant green dragon……’kay. Anyway, the other four seem to the teens as being highly upset that Radioactive Man seemingly got away, but it turns out that the reason he got away was because the teens decided to save one innocent pedestrian in the middle of the chaos. When Cap presses the issue and asks if they really thought saving one man was worth it, which they seem to confirm…he’s convinced that they were the right choices for the new team. Saving people is their number one priority, and these three clearly have the mindset of doing so above all else. So yeah, it’s kinda short, but it nonetheless showcases how these seven operate, and I do like the way they work as a unit. Still, I would’ve liked to see some mix-and-matching between the older and younger groups instead of having the generational members split off, but I guess I can look forward to that when the book starts.

I’m not gonna talk too much about the other half of the book, which features the Uncanny Inhumans, except to bring up a couple of points. First off, why is it called Uncanny Inhumans? Look, I know that a lot of adjectives used to describe heroes and teams have been interchangeable at times, but there really is no way to use the word ‘Uncanny’ to describe a superhero team without thinking of the X-Men. In fact, the only one I can think of off the top of my head other than them is the Uncanny Avengers, which have like half their team made up of X-Men alumni. Next thing I gotta ask about is the Human Torch’s presence on the team. Not only does this raise some questions about his status with the Fantastic Four, but…………..Since when were Johnny Storm and Queen Medusa ROMANTIC?! Maybe this is none of my business, but isn’t Medusa married?! The frak is going on?! But other than that, it was okay, showing the team going up against Hydra agents looking to kidnap newly awakened Inhumans.

Anyway, that’s all I really wanted to say about the book. It was good, and the post-Secret Wars universe looks promising, but man, does it raise some interesting questions. Lemme know what books you guys got at FCBD, and then come back in a day or two for when I give my overall thoughts and opinions on Avengers: Age of Ultron. Ja né!

Batgirl #40 Review – Meet The New Oracle? (WARNING- SPOILERS)

Yeah, it’s been a while since I did a full review of a comic, but as I mentioned beforehand, Wednesday night is D&D night at Heroes’ Beacon, so I haven’t had much in the way of time. However, because I’m kinda down right now with what I’m assuming is a cold, and had to have my comics delivered to me (thanks, Mom), I had time today. So, let’s look at the end of Stewart and Fletcher’s first arc with Barbara Gordon in Batgirl #40 – Ghost In The Cowl (and yes, that’s most definitely a reference to Ghost In The Shell, complete with similar logo, lol).

So, as we learned last issue, and had further light shed on it in Batgirl’s part of Secret Origins #10, it seems the algorithm Babs made while she was wheelchair bound was designed to identify and predict criminal activity and alert operatives to deal with the situation as a sort of information broker. Babs also included a brain scan of herself to give the program a personality. So basically, a digital Oracle. However, it’s gotten a bit…confused. Seeing Batgirl no longer scaring criminals, being a force of fear, and instead becoming a bit more public, the program instead sees herself as the real Barbara Gordon and Babs as the corrupted version. Worse, using the hooq servers, she’s determined that pretty much everyone going to Black Canary’s concert (yeah, I still can’t get over that, but let’s move on) is a potential target, whether directly involved in criminal behaviour or not, and has decided to take them all out WITH A MILITARY SATELLITE! Of course, Babs ain’t taking that shit, and with help from Dinah and Frankie (her room-mate who just learned of Babs’ secret identity), as well as the GCPD keeping everyone calm, they manage to stop evil data twin Barbara from firing and shut her down. The next morning, Frankie reveals that she managed to save the algorithm and fix it so it won’t kill anyone. She also teases that she gave it a name, and makes it clear that she wants to join team Batgirl. Afterward, we get a quick goodbye from Dinah, who has been signed to a label and might be going on tour, and declares that she no longer has any hard feelings towards Babs, as none of this would’ve happened without her. So, all’s good with the team again………THANK GOD. lol

Now, let’s discuss a couple of things. First, there’s how the Barbara/Dinah situation resolved. Frankly, at this point, I’m just glad they managed to resolve this at all with at least some of either character’s dignity intact and their friendship rekindled. I still think that Di took it way too far at times, but she at least came back for Babs when she most needed her. Also, I’m still on the fence about the direction of the new Black Canary book coming out in June. However, I do take comfort that she actually HAS a solo book now for the first time since 2007, and that it’s at least something different that’ll take us down a new road with the character. So, I’m at least more open to the idea than I was when it was first announced.

As for Frankie becoming the new Oracle, or at least the new Oracle-like character……..I love it. lol Yeah, I’ve been a little disappointed that Alysia got pushed into the background to make room for Frankie, but I’ve come around and learned to like this character as well. And honestly, if we’re going with the idea of someone other than Babs being Oracle, maybe this is exactly who we needed: Someone who is smart, adaptive, and wants to help clean up the streets, but not out of any desire for vengeance or being motivated by a troubled life, but just because she wants to help. And I love the idea that we’re going back to someone who is physically handicapped, but with the twist that she wasn’t put in the wheelchair by a criminal. Hell, she’s not even in the chair yet, it’s just a condition she has that’ll eventually lead to that. And while I don’t really feel her race ever really impacts her character at all, it still adds to the roster of DC characters of varying skins and nationalities. Overall, it’s a good call.

…I love this cover. XD

So, my thoughts on this issue? Great. Not perfect, mind you. It DOES feel like a bit of a mega-happy ending, which could rub people the wrong way, but sometimes, we need those. I no longer have any kind of ill will for this book and its narrative. I know that there are still some that do, though, and that’s fine. Nothing is for everybody, but this book is definitely for me.

Batman #36 Review – Bourder (WARNING – SPOILERS AHEAD)

This issue is once again great, but I have a couple of problems that I’ll address. It picks up right where we left off…more or less, since we actually start with a look at another possible death scenario for Bruce, care of the stuff Scarecrow put in his system. And again, is this something that happened in another book that I didn’t read, something that’s going to happen in Eternal, or just an off-panel event we never actually see? Regardless, the point is that, while the scenario is different in each of these visions, one thing that’s the same is the sound of cold, mocking laughter, coming from the city, asking Batman who or what he thought he was…Gosh, I wonder why you hear THAT, Bruce?

Anyway, snap back to reality, and Superman is still pummeling on Batman’s armoured suit, his ‘Super-buster’, if you will. Of course, seeing as how Batman can be INCREDIBLY paranoid, the suit’s armed with weapons meant specifically to take down Superman, with knuckles emitting red sunlight, and plasma shields meant to stop both heat vision and freeze breath. Unfortunately, he kinda failed to take into account that, because this is a suit meant to take on Superman, who generally has limits to what he’ll do, the best it can do against a Superman hell-bent on killing Bats is slow him down. So yeah, the suit gets trashed, but thankfully, Batman’s got one last trick up his sleeve: A gum-like substance laced with Kryptonite that he spits INTO HIS EYE. This seems to finally put Superman down long enough to get him and the rest of the League to A.R.G.U.S. for treating, but they’ll be out for nearly a week, meaning Joker is clearly planning something so big that Bruce would normally be forced to call on the team for help. And I suppose I should point out what bullshit it is that Batman managed to walk away with no lasting damage from fighting the Justice League, Superman in particular, but at least it wasn’t technically a victory. I’m sure that if the fight had continued, Superman probably would’ve killed Bruce. Also, God knows the ‘Super-buster’ (and yes, I’m going to continue to call it that) was probably worth a TON, and the chances of building another just like it aren’t great, so if something like this ever comes up again, Bruce is screwed.

After meeting up with Alfred and Julia, both of whom make it clear that they aren’t leaving Bruce to deal with this alone, Batman deduces that Joker must’ve gotten at the League when they were at a charity for the Gotham Children’s Hospital a month earlier, and that whatever he used was so slow and subtle working that none of them noticed until it was too late…and I kinda have to scratch my head at this point. No, not for the fact that the Joker venom was used on the Justice League, since we learn that different variations were used on each, and I can see how someone with enough knowledge of each member could pull this off. However, how could Joker know all of this? The only way he could pull it off is if he had access to the same information as Batman, but that would require hacking the cave computers, which would need knowing where to find them, which would then require knowing who Batman is, and we’ve already established that Joker doesn’t want to know who Batman is.

Eventually, Batman decides to check out Joker’s cell back at the ruined Arkham Asylum. Mr. Border, who’s been working at Arkham since Batman Annual #2 and has popped up here and there in story, shows up, saying that the patients at Arkham Manor are scared of Joker, and that he came to check the area out. Batman tells him he should really get back to his patients, at which point Border explains that, since arriving in Gotham, all he’s ever wanted was to help the Arkham inmates, the people of Gotham, and Batman most of all, but that none of them saw a helping hand…just as the door to Joker’s cell locks on Batman, and the cell starts to fill with gas. Turns out, Mr. Border is really more like Mr. Bourder, an obsolete word for ‘Jester’…and all I could hear while reading this for the first time was this little tune…

Yep, Border’s really Joker in disguise, using make-up, muscle relaxers, and even sporting a new face (Thank God). We see that Joker has infected most of the city as Batman is trapped in the cell, and that, as alluded to before, Joker didn’t exactly take the ending of Death of the Family all that well, and is now out to END Batman. And it’d be great dialogue…if it wasn’t more or less word for word what Scott Snyder said in an interview while explaining Joker’s motivations this story arc. Seriously, Scott, I love ya and all, but you REALLY shouldn’t be doing this. And I’m not the only person to notice, either. But yeah, Joker says that when Batman wakes up, he’ll find the whole city laughing at him, pulls out a BANG flag gun, shoots, and end of Part 2 of Endgame.

I don’t want anyone to think I didn’t enjoy this issue from my nitpicking, because I did, A LOT. I’m just pointing out that a few things either didn’t add up well, or have yet to, but it’s still early in the story, so who knows, maybe it’ll iron itself out later. I will say that the best part of this issue was the reveal that Border was really The Joker. Now, I’d seen a new shot of what Joker was supposed to look like online, particularly in his recent haircut, so when I saw Border in this issue and saw his hair, there was a split second where I thought to myself “…Wait a minute…”, but I didn’t really believe it, since I didn’t think it was possible…Yeah, turns out, VERY MUCH SO. And I gotta wonder, was Border ALWAYS supposed to be Joker in disguise? How long has Snyder been planning this? Were there clues I missed along the way? I can see him popping pills in Batman #34, which were probably those muscle relaxants he mentioned, and re-reading that scene knowing what I know now makes it absolutely CHILLING. And frankly, I seem to recall Joker once saying “How do you keep a secret from the World’s Greatest Detective? You stick it right in front of him, right under his long pointy nose, and wait.”

Speaking of, I think I speak for most when I say that I’m glad to see that Joker has a face again. Having him not have a face FOREVER just wouldn’t have worked. I’m curious as to how and when he got it, though. Clearly, he knows a REALLY good plastic surgeon…though I wonder how come this new face is also bleached white. But whatever, point is, despite some hiccups along the way, Endgame has proven to be really good, and I can’t wait to see what that insane, demented, side-show freak pulls out next…But enough about Scott Snyder, I wonder what Joker has planned? XD

Batman #35 Review – Hahnium (WARNING – SPOILERS AHEAD)

So, this book is kind of a mixed bag for me. Overall, I enjoyed it, and damned if the ending didn’t have me thinking “Pants to be darkened”, but it kinda perpetuates something that has been irritating me in recent years…but I suppose I’m getting ahead of myself. First off, I should note that this takes place after the events of Batman Eternal. As such, things have changed quite a bit. Bruce, Alfred, and Julia are hiding out in a new base, which just happens to be the Court of Owls’ old nest on the 13th floor of Old Wayne Tower. I mean, hey, if they’re not gonna use it, right? lol Besides, operating out of the Batcave is pretty much impossible with the events of Arkham Manor, wherein Wayne Manor is converted into a place for several of Arkham’s inhabitants, and it’s questionable if the cave even still exists at this point. That said, PLEASE tell me that, with him operating out of an old Court of Owls hideout, that he’s gonna be working with Calvin Rose and Strix later. I’m DYING to see them play a role in future Batman stories. Also, I do love how this book spoils SOME of what’s happened post-Eternal, but not ALL of it, nor does it elaborate on the situation going on with Robin and whether Damian will be returning or if we’ll be seeing someone new take up the mantle of Boy (or Girl) Wonder.

At any rate, Bruce is getting over a recent bout with the Scarecrow that has caused him to see the supposed end of his life over and over (and further hints at important involvement down the road by Harper Row and Duke Thomas), and is talking with Julia about what a great job she’s been doing while Alfred is recovering, but the nice moment doesn’t last long before freaking WONDER WOMAN comes crashing through the window (and yeah, this base has windows, just roll with it). While Bruce is capable of getting out of her grasp with some gadgets he keeps on him, he knows he’s royally screwed, as for whatever reason, Wonder Woman is trying to kill him. So, he has Alfred set off some gas meant to scare people away, thus evacuating the part of the city they’re in. Also, Bruce has a specialized Bat armour in the underground bunker for a situation he’s been hoping he wouldn’t find himself in: Fighting the Justice League. And right here, we have my problem: Batman proceeds to bring down, even if only temporarily, Wonder Woman, The Flash, and Aquaman, and he apparently has methods built into this armour that could disable Cyborg and Green Lantern if necessary. Y’know, this wouldn’t be AS big a deal if we saw the other members of the League being forced into situations where they have to defend themselves against their team-mates, but when we see that it’s constantly Batman that has a leg up on them, it’s just ANNOYING. Granted, though, we do see him mentally taking note of the fact that their movements aren’t nearly as fast as they could be, so they aren’t at their best in this fight, but it’s still three-on-one here.

Anyway, after disabling Aquaman, he knows someone else is coming, and while he has contingencies built into the suit for Cyborg and Green Lantern (why is Hal still considered a member? He left the League two years ago), less so for who actually shows up: Superman. I guess either he neglected to pack Kryptonite into the suit, or he just doesn’t have enough to make much of a difference. Regardless, Supes hits Batman for massive damage, and Bruce tries to get through to Clark, trying to find out who is making them do this (since, as I noted, they aren’t going quite as hard and fast as they could be, meaning they’re trying to hold themselves back). Superman tells him it’s a funny thing, and Batman realizes to his horror what has happened just before Superman breaks out into insane laughter: After all this time, the Joker is back, and he’s found a way to take control of the Justice League.

So, I think I’m getting the whole ‘Endgame’ title. Unless I’m missing something or am simply way off, this is Joker’s Endgame. His previous endeavour to split Batman from his circle of allies ended in failure, and Joker, feeling betrayed, defeated, and humiliated, is now out for blood. And apparently, if we’re to believe an interview Scott Snyder had with Newsarama, the Justice League is just the START of what Joker has planned. Now, I could ask how the hell Joker got control of the entire Justice League, but I won’t, at least not yet. I’ll give Snyder a chance to explain it. Let’s just hope things are a bit more thought-out then some of the impossible crap we saw Joker pull off last time. And I suppose I could complain that we now have ANOTHER Joker story right after Zero Year, and I seem to recall suggesting against such on a forum once, but I can’t argue that this is really well done. Also, the fact that it doesn’t hint at Joker’s presence at all until the very end, when it hits you right when you’re least suspecting it, is executed so perfectly that all you can think is “Oh shit, this just got real in a hurry”.

One other thing I gotta say about this comic: Ever since I saw that cover that Greg Capullo did for Justice League years ago, I’ve been dying to see him draw them for real again someday. So, yeah, definitely loving this. I WAS gonna say that his Wonder Woman looked too menacing, but now that I’ve read the full comic and know what’s going on, I get that that’s kind of the point.

Overall, I think I would’ve preferred if we didn’t jump into a major story involving Joker right away. They could’ve done a short one or two part story involving the Circus of Strange, or perhaps this incident with Scarecrow that causes Batman to have these visions of his end (assuming it isn’t told in another book), something to help establish this new status quo we’re finding ourselves in. Still, I can’t argue that this story has me on the edge of my seat, excited to see how the hell Batman manages to get through this one, and what the hell Joker could possibly have planned AFTER the Justice League. Just woulda liked it even more if it wasn’t done so quickly.

Red Sonja #12 Review – Voilà! She Is Clean!

Red Sonja #12 Cover by Jenny Frison

You ever read a comic that you knew was amazingly good, made you laugh out loud at least a couple of times, had some great action, but you knew there was one thing that kept it from being perfect? Well, that’s this comic in a nutshell. So what was it that kept it from being perfect? Well, basically that this issue is the end of the current story arc that’s been going on since #7. Why is that a problem? Well, it just feels like this could’ve been stretched out to two issues, would’ve lost nothing, and instead had a bunch of extra added on to help build to the conclusion of this story. Instead, it feels kinda rushed, but I’m almost certain I know why that is: The last arc was six issues long, as is this one. Chances are, Dynamite wants the arcs to each be six issues long specifically for the sake of the trade paperbacks sold later on. And I’m not even against that idea. I just think it kind of bit the ending of this particular arc a little bit.

Red Sonja #12 Variant by Joyce Chin and Ivan Nunes

But whatever. It’s still a great issue. Gail Simone’s interpretation of Red Sonja remains awesome, and while I feel it was rushed, the conclusion to the story was still alright, not only in how Sonja finally gets these six people to the Emperor’s party, and sees to his slaves’ release, but she FINALLY gets clean, and as we can tell from the ending, she FINALLY gets laid…THANK GOD. XD Lemme tell you something: Not the Anti-Monitor, not Galactus, not Heath Ledger’s Joker, not Freddy Krueger, NOTHING is as shit-your-pants terrifying as Red Sonja when she has not had sex in a LONG TIME, and has to be told everywhere she goes that she smells. As she said when she barges into a place in this comic, and this was what made me laugh out loud first…

…Honest to God, the day that Gail stops writing Red Sonja will be a SAD FRAKKING DAY, because I could read this Red Sonja for YEARS. But yeah, great issue if not a bit rushed to end this arc, can’t wait to see what they do with the next story. Ja né!

Batman Eternal #24 Review – That’s My Girl :) (WARNING – SPOILERS)

So, in addition to not buying anything related to Future’s End, with the exception of the Batgirl issue, I’ve also not been buying Batman Eternal. However, in this case, it’s less of a disinterest with the story and more of a simple matter of IT’S A YEAR-LONG WEEKLY COMIC! What, am I made of money? lol However, at this time, I currently have two issues of Batman Eternal in my possession: #3, which was the New 52 debut of Stephanie Brown (not counting Batman #28), and this week’s issue. Why this week? Because the primary focus of the plot is on Steph and her activities now that she has become Spoiler. So, with that said, let’s take a look at what happens, and…well, for the lack of a better term, spoilers ahead. 😛

So Stephanie is spying on her dad, the Cluemaster, as he’s explaining to someone in the dark how a group of C and D-List villains are using their own unique talents to upset the natural order of Gotham in a slow, methodical fashion, so that when the time is right, Gotham’s citizens will be ready to riot. Since most people following this story already know the man’s involvement thus far, I’ll just go ahead and say it: It’s Hush. Hush is pleased at how the plan’s progressing for now, but tells Cluemaster that he needs to kill Stephanie before she can get in touch with Batman and spoil everything that’s going on, and wow, they’re just going all out with the Spoiler theme, huh? lol

Anyway, cut to Batman dealing with a situation at the Gotham Gallery of Modern Art, where Simon Ecks, AKA Doctor X, is causing trouble, and Batman has to put him down with an Nth Metal Batarang. I have no idea WHY he was carrying a Batarang made out of Nth Metal, since the gadgets in his belt are generally rotated based on situations, so I don’t know what made him think he’d need it, but whatever. He also finally realizes that the situation Batwing was looking into at Arkham Asylum may not be going as swimmingly as he was led to believe, and has Penny-Two look into Ecks…Oh yeah, for those that haven’t been following along, Alfred’s daughter Julia was found fighting Fang in Hong Kong, and after a recent incident where Alfred got injected with fear toxin by Hush, Julia found her way down to the Batcave, and she’s been helping Batman in place of him, meaning she’s the one we saw working down there in Batman #28.

Back to Stephanie, who gets attacked by her dad, who knew she’d come looking for him eventually. He’s not quite ready to murder her yet, instead trying to get her to join him, but after a struggle where she tears off on a motorcycle, he gets his incentive. Anyway, after a chase on the highway, during which she was making a phone call, she escapes him, leaving him to be caught by the cops. However, whereas he’d be able to get free if this was the GCPD (Jason Bard in this continuity turned out to be working for Hush…huzzah…), Steph had led him past the city limits, and now he’s dealing with the state police. The only thing missing here is the Price Is Right fail sound, which I will supply right now…

So, this issue was pretty good. If I have any complaint to it, it’s that this rebooted Stephanie Brown seems to be a bit too good for someone who just put on the mask and is fighting crime with no previous training. I mean, it’s POSSIBLE she’s acquired these skills she’s using prior, but we haven’t really seen any indication of this. She beats her dad all too easily, although I doubt we’ve seen the last of him, and he’s just a small part of a much bigger problem. Also, I don’t know if I’m forgetting something, since I’m mostly just reading about stuff that happens in the series as opposed to picking it up at the shop, but it feels like the situation with Batman at the art gallery fighting Doctor X comes right the frak outta nowhere. Last I checked, he was dealing with the Architect, a villain from Batman Gates of Gotham, who had triggered a small earthquake that leveled several buildings, though not quite as bad as the one from No Man’s Land, and dear God, I feel like I’m gonna set off the Continuity Alarm any second now.

But yeah, other than those problems, this was still an enjoyable read, and hell, I can’t complain too much about a book that focuses on my favourite superheroine BEING my favourite superheroine. So, not winning any awards or anything, but still a good issue nonetheless.

I’m Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaack! :D Teen Titans #2 Review – What’s So Funny About Truth, Justice, and Light-Hearted Heroes?

…So, yeah, it’s been a while since I posted something new, huh? I mean, I’ve been reblogging stories I’ve found online, but I haven’t written anything new on here for a while. Suffice to say, this year hasn’t exactly been the greatest, and on top of that, there’s some stuff that I’m afraid I’d talk a bit too much about with an open mic to say whatever I wanted that I’m not really ready to talk about yet. But looking back recently, I realized how much I missed this, so here I am. Won’t be doing much right away, but for now, I will be posting my comic reviews that I’ve been posting on Comic Vine as of late, starting with the newest one I’ve posted for Teen Titans #2. So, while it’s been a while since I did this, I DO believe it is Wednesday, and I did go to a comic book shop, so let’s take a look at…

I won’t be talking about EVERY comic I bought this week, just the one(s) that I have something to say about and feel like giving a review of. With that said, let’s take a look at Teen Titans #2.

Okay, so yer probably wondering about the title? Well, it’s for a couple of things. First off, something I failed to mention with the review of Teen Titans #1, Manchester Black is in this book as an antagonist. If you don’t know who that is, either watch Superman vs The Elite, or read the book it’s based on, What’s So Funny About Truth, Justice, and the American Way?. The other is in regards to the two Titans featured most prominently in this issue: Bunker and Beast Boy, or Plan B as I’m calling their duo from now on. And right away, I gotta address something kinda controversial: The change in Bunker’s attitude. As much as I HATE to give Scott Lobdell a positive, one of the things I really liked about his run on Teen Titans was the character Bunker and how he was written, being a gay Latino teen who was the light-hearted optimist of the group in spite of some issues in his life and some of the insane shit they went through. Here, he’s written with a bit more of an edge…though I THINK I get the reason why.

In the original run of the Teen Titans in the New 52, Beast Boy was neither on the team nor a very light-hearted character. In fact, his usually green fur was changed to red. Basically, he had almost zero resemblance to the original. So, to compensate for that, the character of Bunker was made the optimist who cracked jokes on occasion and kept things from getting too frosty…with varying levels of success, mind you, but he tried. However, with Beast Boy getting put back on the team (and turned green again at some point that I still have yet to learn when it happened), I think Will Pfeifer wanted to make him the optimistic goof off and have Bunker’s character changed to confront certain homophobic viewpoints that still exist in society today. At least, that’s what I think is going on. And if so, I DO understand it. Still, it kinda bugs me to see Bunker acting this way.

One thing that hasn’t changed about Bunker, though, is his sense of heroism. As soon as he and Beast Boy find out there’s a fire at STAR Labs, all it takes is a look and they jump into action. Even the danger of the fire setting off a blast that could destroy Manhattan doesn’t stop Bunker, nor does the appearance of Ladytron. Once again, Titans save the day, and I could never complain much about a book where the good guys save the day and everybody lives. Well, with the exception of a survivor from the bus incident from last issue that gets killed off by mysterious circumstances while Red Robin was trying to get info from him. My guess? Black.

As for the other Titans, as I mentioned, Red Robin was trying to learn more about who was behind the little Speed recreation from Teen Titans #1. Raven decided to go to a concert by some band named Dark Mistress, which’ll apparently be important next issue. And just as a side note, even as someone who hates the new Teen Titans Go! show, if Rachel is the owner of the pony poster back at the Titans’ pad, that’s frigging hilarious. As for Wonder Girl…she may or may not be encouraging teenage girls to dress up as Wonder Girl copycats and beat up thugs with baseball bats. It’s a little unclear.

So yeah, other than changes to Bunker, not really anything to pick on with this comic. Not really much else to say that’s good about it, but again, heroes jump into action and save the day, everybody lives. Nothing too remarkable, but nothing that I consider all that terrible either. And considering a certain other comic that came out this week that I am NOT talking about, at least not on here, it could be a lot worse…Oh, and I love the selfie cover for this issue. There’s just something about Raven photo-bombing that I find too cute for words (have I mentioned she’s my favourite Titan? lol).

So yeah, that’s my review for today. If you wanna see my other reviews on Comic Vine, click here, and I will see you next week. Ja né!

What I Bought Today – Red Sonja #6, Harley Quinn #1, Batman and Robin #26 (WARNING – SPOILERS)

Thank goodness Mom and Dad decided to go out tonight, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to tell you all about…

‘Cuz it was a freaking snow storm out today, the second one we’ve gotten in the past few days. Nonetheless, let’s talk about the three books I got this week (X-Men wasn’t there due to a mail order error of some sort), starting with Red Sonja #6.

The finale to Gail Simone‘s first arc on the book, this issue managed to wrap up all the plot points of the previous five issues pretty well. I don’t wanna spoil too much, since there’s one or two major twists. Suffice to say, Annisia won’t be a threat anymore, and I think the kingdom is left in decent hands. And when all was said and done, when the comic ended, and one of Red Sonja’s bodyguards asked if there was anything they could do to repay her, all that Sonja could say in response was “Re-open your taverns, dear one, because I’m going to get drunk in legendary fashion.”

Seriously, if you haven’t read this book yet, go and find it. If you can’t find all six issues of the initial run, it’s going to be collected in trade paperback in February as “Queen of Plagues”. Gail Simone and Walter Geovani more than earn your money with this one.

Harley Quinn #1 sadly did not have any fourth wall breaking, but it DID have a ton of dark humour and insanity from Harley, over-the-top violence and mayhem, roller derby (thus explaining the costume), a little stuffed beaver buddy that talks to Harley in her own mind (I’m so not kidding), and tons more. It’s still not quite Harley Quinn as I remember her, and it does go a bit too over-the-top at times, but it’s still a ton of fun. I will say this, though: If yer not a fan of dark comedy, this probably isn’t for you. Fortunately, I DO have a sick sense of humour, so I’m able to enjoy it thoroughly. ^_^ I will say that, for those complaining about the lack of plot in #0, you can relax. The plot here mostly revolves around Harley getting a new place in Coney Island, but learning that, to keep it, she needs to collect pay from the tenants in all of the other apartments, and get a job. To further complicate matters, it seems that someone has put a bounty on her head, meaning there’s gonna be assassins looking to take her out. And yet, for all her psychotic faults, Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti, and Chad Hardin manage to capture Harley’s more vulnerable and loveable side, so you kinda want her to make it through all of this. A good read, and I think will probably stay on my pull list from here on out.

Batman and Two-Face (really Batman and Robin #26) was great, and I love how they’re telling the tale of Erin McKillen, her sister, and their history with Harvey Dent in reverse order, where they tell what happened, and then discuss WHY it happened. My one complaint, however, is that, as great as this arc has been, this entire book has suffered a lot from changes occurring in other books, tie-ins, crossovers, etc. Here, it’s clear that the book was originally gonna lead into a story where Carrie Kelley was gonna become Robin while also telling a story about Two-Face and Erin. I’m fairly certain of that, especially considering that, since the hints started popping up that Damian was coming back, Carrie just kinda faded into the background and hasn’t been seen since. Maybe she still will become Robin and the hints are just a fake-out, but even if that is the case, it’s clear this was supposed to happen earlier and it got forced back. Still, this IS a good story that Peter Tomasi is writing. However, I really hope this book gets back to being about Batman and Robin, fast.

Anyway, that’s all for this week. Next week, I get to tell you all about What I Got For Christmas, though I may wait until I can use whatever gift cards I obtain first. Ja né!

Related articles

• Village Comics in Bedford, NH Reviews Harley Quinn #1 (villagecomics.net)
• Red Sonja #6 Brings the Queen of Plagues to a Close (whatchareading.com)
• New Comics Day: Our December 18 Pull List (theimprobablechuck.wordpress.com)
• 15/12/13 Batman (toddalevel3media.wordpress.com)
• Batman, Harley Quinn top November comics chart (digitalspy.co.uk)
• Controversial ‘suicide’ scene doesn’t appear in ‘Harley Quinn’ #0 (robot6.comicbookresources.com)
• Harley Quinn #1 (comicvine.com)
• Gail Simone Continues Red Sonja’s Rollicking Rampage [Interview] (comicsbeat.com)
• Preview: Red Sonja #6 (graphicpolicy.com)
• THE BAT SIGNAL: Palmiotti Talks “Harley Quinn,” Gothopia & Jonah Hex in the Modern DCU (comicbookresources.com)

What I Bought Today – Batman #26, Nightwing #26 (WARNING – SPOILERS)

So, it is Wednesday, so naturally I went to Heroes Beacon, and have returned to tell you all about…

Regarding what I said last week, I’m still looking over which books I’ll be continuing to buy into next year and which ones I won’t. Pretty sure I’m dropping The Movement, for reasons I gave before, and POSSIBLY Supergirl, since apparently they’re going to be turning her Red Lantern, possibly permanently. Haven’t committed completely to a decision on that one. Either way, though, that change isn’t coming for a while, so the book is still in the safe zone. Two books I can safely say I WON’T be dropping anytime soon (unless something REALLY dumb happens, and I’ll get to that later) are the two I bought today. So, let’s take a look at ’em, starting with Batman #26.

So, apparently Lucius‘ heel turn at the end of last issue was actually a fake-out. He’d actually injected Bruce with a vaccine for Doctor Death‘s serum. The two start to make their escape, after Bruce blows Death down a chamber with the force of a jet aircraft (See Edna? It happens whether you wear capes or not, lol), but apparently even that’s not to beat the guy, who comes back and nearly shatters Bruce Wayne‘s skull. Thankfully, James Gordon is on the scene and says, and I love this quote, “Step away from the billionaire and put your claws in the air”. However, after tending to Bruce’s head, something I think they should do more often, Bruce doesn’t seem too happy to be saved by Gordon and isn’t willing to share info. And here’s the return of my one problem with this part of Zero Year: Jim Gordon. Apparently, in this interpretation, he and his partner took pay-offs for protection, and Jim himself has some kind of secret involving the Crime Alley shooting. Depending on how this goes, this may just screw the idea of Gordon, in that he is supposed to be the one cop in Gotham you cannot buy off and cannot be corrupted. Between this and Batgirl: Wanted, which is thankfully over, I get the feeling that DC is just crapping all over poor Jim Gordon. At this point, I don’t even blame Scott Snyder or Gail Simone for this anymore, this HAS to be higher-ups in DC doing this crap. That said, while I didn’t buy Batgirl #26, I did READ it, and thankfully Gail kind of salvaged him a bit in that book, and I expect Scott will find a way around this too. Otherwise, rest of this comic is frigging great, Doctor Death makes a great villain for the second arc of Zero Year, and we keep flashing back to a death chamber in the Middle East where I’m assuming Bruce, prior to returning to Gotham City, is locked up, and I know this ties in somehow, I just have no clue as to how. lol

Nightwing #26 was awesome. Remember the psychotic mimic woman from earlier, around the time when Nightwing first came to Chicago? Well, she’s stealing anti-psychotics. Frankly, I don’t know why doctors aren’t forcing her to take anti-psychotics, but she’s stealing them illegally, so Nightwing tries to stop her. Oh, and she’s calling herself Marionette now. Thing about her is, as an expert mimic, she’s able to replicate Nightwing’s acrobatics with freaking ease, meaning the best advantage in Dick’s arsenal is being used against him, and any plans he has to use his acrobatic skill against this enemy is out the window. That’s a great match-up! That’s a great scenario to put him in! So, let’s screw that up by having the Mad Hatter show up and reveal that he made Marionette who she is. Okay, to be fair, it’s not a for certain screw-up, provided that Mad Hatter sticks to the background and have Marionette be the one who takes Dick on directly. Otherwise, moving Nightwing out of Gotham makes no sense if they aren’t going to have him build his own rogues gallery of non-Gotham villains. Oh, and apparently we’ve just decided to forget all about how Mad Hatter fridged that one love interest of Bruce’s that nobody cared about until she was HORRIFICALLY MURDERED? Yeah, those were good times. Ugh. Sorry, if it seems like I’m crapping on this book, I’m really not. I just disagree with the decision to bring in Mad Hatter, especially so soon after THAT arc in Batman: The Dark Knight. The rest of the book is awesome, and I REALLY hope it’s sticking around, despite rumours we’ve all been hearing regarding Nightwing.

That’s it for this week. Check in week to see my looks at Adjectiveless X-Men, Batman and Two Face, Red Sonja, and more. Ja né!

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What I Bought Today – Fearless Defenders #12, Batman/Superman #6, The Movement #7 (WARNING – SPOILERS) + Farewell Fearless Defenders

Well, tis Wednesday, meaning it’s time to look at…

And no, I didn’t forget last week, I just didn’t buy anything. The weather was nasty out, so I didn’t go out. Also, I’ve been home sick with a cold, and I got my early Christmas present, the Wii U, a bit earlier than expected, hence why I haven’t writing much. But, I’m back, which means I now have the unfortunate responsibility of sending of one of my favourite books from this past year: The Fearless Defenders.

Suffice to say, Fearless Defenders, despite one or two dipping points, has been a delight to read this past year. I still haven’t had the chance to grab the first few issues before the one that hooked me, the issue with the awesome tournament fighter select screen cover, but I plan to, as soon as I can find them. In the meantime, though, I’ve loved what I’ve read of the series. If I haven’t made it clear, my favourite characters of the book have thus far been Annabelle, Valkyrie, and the newly created Ren Kimura. Still, the other members of this all superheroine team have been awesome in their own ways. It’s a shame to see their comic go, but at least we’ll always have the memories. And with that said, let’s look at Fearless Defenders #12.

So, long story short, Enchantress and the other Doom Maidens that Caroline LeFay let go ratted her out to the Defenders, so they go to where she and the rest of her team are hiding, while picking up a new member for the ride. It seems that Annabelle and Valkyrie are kind of having troubles, since it turns out part of the agreement with the All Mother to allow their little trick and let Annabelle return to the realm of the living was for her to remind Valkyrie of her duty to bring together shieldmaidens, not defenders. Also, Valkyrie’s a bit bothered by the fact that, every day, she’s becoming more and more like Annabelle. However, Annabelle counters that she agrees with Valkyrie, that the world needs Defenders, not shieldmaidens, and that she too is becoming more like Valkyrie. It’s a lot like Yugi and Yami Yugi from Yugioh: The two are balancing each other out. So, after hinting that Valkyrie likes Red too (thanks for suggesting the threesome that can never be, Cullen, lol), Valkyrie and the other Defenders go to work and stop the Doom Maidens, while Caroline decides to sacrifice herself to a pit sending off energy to summon something. The Defenders have their new recruit, Frankie Raye, AKA frigging Galactus‘ former herald, siphon off the energy to stop the pit, but it appears to have nonetheless summoned Morgan LeFay back to Earth. Still, the Doom Maidens are defeated, which is likely a huge hindrance to her plans, so I’m calling it a win for the heroes, which is good to see for the final issue. Still, I totally wanted to see Cullen Bunn’s plans for the book come to be, particularly them going into space and confronting Galactus. Although, I suppose revealing said plans may be a way to entice people into wanting to see the book come back. 🙂

Batman/Superman #6, still going with the gimmick of turning it on its side, apparently gonna be a thing for this arc. But regardless, we open the comic and we find that, following his VERY short fight with Mongul at the end of #5, Batman is dead…No, I’m not kidding. Mongul put a smoking hot hole in Batman’s chest. He’s DEAD. BUT, since it’s Batman, and this isn’t a major storyline that would get tons of attention, naturally he gets a get-out-of-jail-free card. A nanotech cloud formed by the players in what they still believe only to be a game brings him back. Fortunately, this gives him access to whose playing, and as soon as Supes finds out Jimmy Olsen is sitting in, he yells at him to knock it off…I think Olsen may have soiled himself right then and there. lol Anyway, Batman uses new powers granted to him through the tech holding him together to try to destroy the machine holding the game (and now himself) together, but Jimmy and the players stop him by taking over, having figured out now that it’s all real and not wanting Batman to die. Instead, they help him deal with Mongul when he starts attacking people, while Superman battles Mongul head on. However, Mongul has another trick up his sleeve. Remember how in last issue everyone’s heart rate went up, and now people have been a bit more prone to anger and violence? Yep, Mongul spread the pollen of a blossom that increases the urge for violent behaviour in people. And with the game up and running, now open to a ton of people who are affected by the pollen, and with Batman under their control, Mongul has the army he wants with the appropriate weapon for them to use: A super-powered Batman on equal footing with Superman. Unlike Earth 2, however, I like this twist, as we know this won’t be permanent, for obvious reasons, and that either Superman will find a way to free him, or Batman will override the system somehow, or Olsen and the others will free him. And hey, at least they’re doing this with Batman instead of Superman for the who-knows-how-many’th time this year.

The Movement #7…Yeah, I think I’m dropping this book. Make no mistake, though: I still support this book. I still want this book around. I like the characters. I think I proved that when I made Virtue a character in my Birds of Prey fanfic. The reason I’m dropping this book is out of necessity. I don’t wanna get too much into it, but money is going to be an issue for myself and my family for a little while, and there’s some books coming out next year I wanna get, so I have to even it out. As a result, I will most likely be dropping The Movement, as well as one or two others. So, why The Movement? Well, because while I like the characters and the concept for the story, the plot itself seems a bit unfocused and goes back and forth on what it wants to do. Characters will just do complete 180 turns on their plans with little contemplation, like I mentioned before with Tremor, or here where Vengeance Moth tells Burden that the exorcism last issue was bunk. The only one that seems consistent is Virtue, I LOVE Gail Simone’s writing (which is why I’ll be more than happy to start buying Batgirl again once the current arc is done), and these characters are really special to me, but this story needs better focus.

Anyway, lemme know what you thought of this week’s comics, and join me next week as we look at Batman #26 and Nightwing #26. Ja ne!

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