New Year + New Comics – Money = Having To Drop Current Titles

So, as I’ve mentioned before, I’m planning to pick up the new Black Widow, Ms. Marvel, and She-Hulk books when they come out. In addition, I’m honestly kind of enticed into at least checking out an arc of Iron Man‘s coming up soon where Malekith, the main villain from Thor: The Dark World, plans to find the Mandarin’s rings to gain even more power. However, since money’s gonna be a little on the tight side for reasons I don’t wanna get into, that means dropping some titles to make room for the new ones. So, let’s go through the books I regularly buy these days to get a better idea as to which stays and which goes.

Batman

Hell no, I ain’t dropping this book! This is the best frigging book DC puts out every month! Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo have been putting out one of the best runs of Batman in years, and I’ve been loving the crap outta this book since day one that I’ve been buying it, and I honestly don’t see that changing any time soon. Batman STAYS.

Superman Unchained

Again, the best Superman book of the New 52, though largely because it still feels like the pre-Flashpoint Superman. Y’know, the far better one. lol Not planning to drop this one, but depending on how long it winds up lasting, I may not have a choice. For now, however, Superman Unchained STAYS.

Nightwing

Nightwing has been great, especially since the move to Chicago (although I still don’t understand why there and not a New 52 Blüdhaven, but whatever). I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Nightwing has kinda been reminding me of Spider-man before Marvel ruined Spider-man. Now, depending on the ending and fall-out of Forever Evil, I MIGHT be dropping this book, or it might even be getting cancelled. We’ll just have to see what happens.

Supergirl

As great as Supergirl’s been, I’m thinking I might have to drop it, on account of a change coming up where Supergirl is going to be joining the Red Lanterns. Mind you, that all depends on whether or not this decision turns out to be permanent. If so, dropping. If not, we’ll see. Either way, though, I think I’m gonna skip the next arc involving Lobo, just because it doesn’t look terribly interesting and it’ll free up some cash.

Batgirl

Yep, I am coming back to Gail Simone‘s Batgirl, as was always my intent once Batgirl: Wanted was over. I won’t be picking up the next issue, since it’s a tie-in to an event I’m not gonna be following, but after that, apparently Batgirl’s gonna be teaming up with Strix, so that should prove interesting. So yeah, gonna say with some confidence that Batgirl STAYS.

Batman/Superman

Batman/Superman has been a lot of fun, albeit pretty different, and I do plan to get the trade for issues 1-4 when it comes out, perhaps for my birthday, but I don’t really plan to follow the crossover with Worlds’ Finest, so I guess whether I continue to pick it up after that will depend on what comes afterwards. Still, I give props where props is due to Greg Pak for making this a fun series, which is what a team-up book for Superman and Batman should be. Now if you could talk DC into bringing back the old Superman/Batman logo for it, that’d be great. I don’t care which hero gets top billing, just bring back the logo. lol

Talon

James Tynion’s Talon’s been AMAZING, but it’s also changing writers and gonna be going in a new direction, so I gotta wait to see how that goes before making a decision. If it remains as great as it’s been, and we get to see Calvin Rose and Casey Washington continue to be awesome, definitely gonna continue to pick Talon up.

X-Men

Brian Wood’s X-Men continues to be fun and engaging, which is good since it’s the only mainstream all-women team right now with Fearless Defenders being cancelled and Birds of Prey having Condor, AKA That Guy No One Cares About. And I know, the Birds have had a dude on the team before in the form of Hawk, but that was only ‘cuz Dove was on the team and it’s always best to keep Hawk and Dove together. Sadly, it had a little bit of a shake-up with its roster due to Remender deciding to kill off Rogue in Uncanny Avengers and Kitty deciding to go hang out with Cyclops of all people, but the current line-up works too, so I’m probably gonna keep with it.

The Movement

The Movement…Yeah, I’m sadly done with this one. Not Gail Simone’s best work, as I feel the overall storytelling and character arcs are kinda messed up, but the characters themselves are alright, and I hope that the book improves and gets new readers. Maybe I’ll pick it back up someday if that happens.

Red Sonja

On the other hand, Gail Simone’s Red Sonja is definitely sticking around on my pull list. This is Gail at her best, when the people above her basically just let her do whatever she wants, and it’s FANTASTIC. XD So yeah, Red Sonja STAYS.

Batman and Robin

And finally, Batman and Robin, or rather, Batman and Whoever these days. Look, I’m gonna be honest, I like Peter Tomasi‘s writing a lot, but at this point, if we don’t get a new Robin soon, this book is going to suffer a LOT. Why? Three words: Lack of direction. It feels like Tomasi is having to stall for the moment that either Damian comes back or someone takes his place. Batman and Two-Face has been alright, but if this continues for much longer, I may need to seriously consider dropping this book.

So, of the books I just listed, four are staying for certain and one is getting dropped. That leaves Nightwing, Batman/Superman, Supergirl, X-Men, Batman and _____, and Talon. Which of these books do you think deserve to stick around, and which do you think should be banished from What I Bought Today? Lemme know in the comments, and/or vote below which of the six you think is the best, and we’ll see what happens in the new year. Ja né!

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What I Bought This Past Week – Nightwing Annual #1, Superman Unchained #4, The Movement #6 (WARNING – SPOILERS)

So, been to Heroes’ Beacon a couple of times in the past week or so, and got some comics, so I’m taking a break out of writing Infinite DC – Wonder Woman for National Novel Writing Month so we can take a look at…

First off all, before anyone asks, NO, I did NOT buy the Zero Year tie-in issues of Green Arrow and the like. Why? Well, because there’s only maybe one or two of the non-Bat Family titles involved that interest me with their stories, and the Bat-Family titles involved…I thought we’d already established their back-stories, how they connect to Batman, and so on during their #0 issues. And frankly, at this point, I’m more than a little sick of massive crossover events involving books unnecessarily. I get that it’s done to get more readers on certain books, but for those that already are, it’s interrupting the stories they had going at the time, and for the ones that don’t, you’re not giving enough reason for them to start reading. Hate to break it to ya, DC, but I do not care what Jason Todd was doing during the blackout that The Riddler caused, AT ALL. The only ones I’m SLIGHTLY tempted to buy are the Action Comics tie-in (it’s Superman vs. a giant storm, leave me alone), Detective Comics (James Gordon taking on a gang working for the Black Mask), and Green Lantern Corps (John Stewart is one of those characters I like, but don’t know TOO much about their back-story before becoming a superhero). Either way though, someone has to tell the major comic book industries that the massive crossover events have to be used sparingly, and that tie-ins to other stories have to do more to entice readers, and there just has to be more of an effort placed into them. Want an example of a good tie-in book to another story? Let’s look at Nightwing Annual #1.

Although really, I kinda wanna call it Nightwing and Batgirl #1

This is actually a tie-in to Batgirl Wanted, a storyline that I’m actually skipping. However, since Kyle Higgins doesn’t delve TOO much into the part of the story that makes my brain hurt the worst (namely Commissioner Gordon being written like a dumbass), instead focusing on telling a good Nightwing/Batgirl story that just happens to take place during this tough time in Babs’ life, it works. We also get a villain that I feel isn’t highlighted very much as the main antagonist: Firefly, complete with a new person behind the mask with a new back-story that…well, isn’t as good, and comes at the direct expense of the old one, but is still decent, and comes complete with a new, badass-looking costume. We also get a touching, at times tragic look at Dick and Barbara’s history and how it always seems to be wrong place, wrong time with them, but how they always will care deeply for each other and have the other’s back when they need it most. It’s a good read, especially for Dick/Babs shippers who want a dose of ‘the feels’.

The Movement #6 was pretty good, and I feel makes up for a problem we had last time with Tremor. It turns out that she told Katharsis that she wanted to quit because it was becoming clear that the group wasn’t doing enough to help people, particularly poor Burden, and after Vengeance Moth and Virtue break up the fight between the two, Virtue actually orders the two to go have, as Tremor calls it later, ‘Dessert Diplomacy’, while she deals with Burden, doing what she can with her powers to alleviate him of his inner fears. But he’s not the only one afraid, as it turns out that Tremor is scared, too. She’s scared for Katharsis’ soul and how stained it’s gotten, and it turns out that so is Katharsis sometimes, so they call a truce and make up. A good issue to develop the characters a bit, which is something I feel this series needs more of. After all, if DC and Gail Simone want people to buy this book, then obviously, step one HAS to be to get them to care deeply for these characters…Oh yeah, and Mouse got the shit kicked outta him, which’ll lead into the next major story arc as the team tries to take on The Graveyard Faction.

Look out! He has a paper doll, and he’s not afraid to use it!

Superman Unchained #4, THANK GOD IT MIGHT NOT ONLY BE A 9-PART SERIES! I’m sorry, I know I keep harping on this, but Goddamn it, this is the best frigging Superman story going right now, if for no other reason than it actually FEELS like a Superman story. The characters are as they should be: Superman does what he can to stop the bad guys, but will alter plans to keep as many people safe as possible, even at risk to himself. Lois Lane is smart and quick on her feet, able to survive the worst scenarios thrown at her using her own natural abilities and without the need of any powers, abilities, or a mask (yes, I will be ranting about THAT soon). Jimmy Olsen is Superman’s pal who, despite being a little annoying, I actually feel some connection to in this series. And Lex Luthor is…well, Lex Luthor. He’s the evil genius that’s at least a step or two ahead of everyone else, and is just that perfect blend of insane and brilliant. Add in Wraith, who is the government fail-safe against Superman that still wishes to help him, and Ascension, the high-tech criminals out to bring the world to its knees (and for the most part seems to be succeeding), and this is a hell of a story. But like I said, it MIGHT not be a 9-part series. I’ve been hearing conflicting reports, but from what I can piece together, Jim Lee is only in for 9 issues, and Scott Snyder is currently playing it by ear how long he wants to stick around for. If he decides 9 is enough, then they’ll probably either assign someone else to it, or cancel it. So, what does the future hold for this book? I don’t know, but for now, I’m hoping Snyder sticks with it, because this is the Superman book we’ve needed since the New 52 started. Still, if it doesn’t, at least something AWESOME came out for Supes for his 75th Anniversary.

Anyway, that’s it for what I bought this and last Wednesday. Check in next time in a couple of weeks for more comics. In the meantime, I gotta get back to writing Infinite DC – Wonder Woman, as well as blogging on a couple of other issues that have come up for me recently. Ja né!

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What I Bought Today – The Movement #5, Earth 2 #16 (WARNING – SPOILERS)

Well, been awhile since I talked about new comics, but why don’t we sit back and discuss…

OYYY, as much as I get the reason they do theme months, you’d think the books that weren’t involved could’ve been published along the way. With that said, let’s take a look at one such a series, Gail Simone‘s The Movement.

…Yeah, um…I’m not really sure what to say with this one. Lemme give you the short version of the plot: James Cannon calls in a specialized team to deal with The Movement after last issue. Captain Meers finds out and tries to cut a deal with Virtue, and while she can tell the Captain is sincere in trying to find a peaceful solution that would benefit everyone, she refuses to call off the trial of officers Whitt and Pena, the ones who sexually harassed a teenager in issue 1. Pena pleads guilty and just wants to take his punishment and go home, but Whitt is overly aggressive and morally corrupt, knocking Vengeance Moth out of her wheelchair while in recess. This doesn’t go over well, as Vengeance Moth produces emerald-coloured moth-like wings of light and creates ultrasonic waves that disable him. Katharsis sees this and gets ready to execute Whitt, but Tremor disables her, creating an escape route for the two officers and telling Kulap that she quits…kinda under-minding her conclusions in issue 4. Speaking of Tremor, Mouse is actually writing her a love letter (which kinda comes right the fuck outta nowhere), when he stumbles upon the Cornea Killer in the middle of an attempted murder. Mouse manages to save the victim, but the Cornea Killer has a surprise waiting for him in the form of Cannon’s team: The Graveyard Faction. So, not really a bad issue, but I feel like we missed some developments somewhere, and unfortunately, it’s not the first time I’ve felt The Movement did so.

Earth 2 #16 is James Robinson‘s last issue, and holy shit, does he go out with a bang! O.O Again, long story short: The World Army pretty much get their asses handed to them at the hands of Steppenwolf and the Hunger Dogs, so Amar gives the order for everyone to fall back and evac as many civilians as they possibly can. As such, once Doctor Fate is finished healing them after their last battle went so poorly, Green Lantern, The Flash, Red Arrow, The Atom, Mister Terrific, and Sandman go about saving as many people as possible. However, Alan Scott catches sight of Steppenwolf and decides to let his fist meet the dictator’s face. However, one of the Hunger Dogs, Brutaal, blasts him down with what look to be Omega Beams. Atom tries to save him, but is punched down hard, leaving Alan alone to be beaten badly by the two, and…I’m not 100% sure, but…I-I think they may have murdered him. Either way, as Steppenwolf turns to face a camera and declare his victory, he gets literally torn apart by Brutaal, who blasts apart his own armour to reveal his true identity: Earth 2 Superman, completely under Darkseid‘s control. Sandman and the others fall back, but Superman seemingly destroys Dherain, all the while hailing Darkseid. Again, HOLY SHIT. I have no idea what’s gonna happen next, except that Batman will be trying to unite what forces Earth has that can stand against Darkseid. Guess I’ll just hafta keep buying to find out just what in the hell is happening, and hope that Alan Scott somehow managed to survive.

Well, that’s it for this week. And, if my guess is right, next week is gonna be EXPENSIVE for me…Yeah, I think I’m gonna need to go through a screening process to decide if there are any books I might wish to stop picking up soon. Ja né!

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What I Bought This Past Week – The Movement #4, Earth 2 #15, Batman #23, Nightwing #23, Fearless Defenders #8, Red Sonja #2 (WARNING – SPOILERS)

…Yeah, I did it again, leave me alone. lol

Before I start, I’m just gonna make it clear, I didn’t buy Batgirl #23, nor will I be. When Batgirl eventually leaves this asinine storyline, I will start buying it again. Others who choose to buy it, feel free. I do not blame any of you and respect your opinions. However, I personally cannot read this. Gail Simone knows why, and I’m just hoping this particular arc doesn’t drag much…That having been said, we DO have some Gail Simone books to look at, so let’s start with The Movement #4.

Okay, looking online, I see that this book has quite a few detractors. I think I kind of get why, but I’m still enjoying the heck out of it. That said, there is something that kinda bugged me about this book, and ironically, it’s regarding my favourite part of it: The back-stories. Specifically, we’re finally getting an idea as to who some of these people are. Mouse was a child born of a wealthy family who connected better to rats than people, so he escaped his home to the sewers. Katharsis was an immigrant who joined the Gotham City Police, but left after she killed a man who got away with assaulting and murdering an immigrant girl. Tremor ran away from home after a car accident with her friends and was enlisted by Amanda Waller to infiltrate The Movement, though later in this book, she tells military officials to tell Waller she quits. Finally, Burden was believed by his VERY religious parents to be possessed by the devil and thus ran away as to not burden their lives. I don’t have a problem with any of these back-stories. My problem is that we should’ve gotten them at least a couple of issues ago, maybe even one or two every issue so that, by this point, we’d be caught up on them all. Still, can’t fault this particular issue for that, and it is showing general improvement of the story-telling. That said, given the number of detractors to this book, I’m sadly expecting to hear any day now that DC is cancelling it, which will be a shame if it happens.

Honestly, not much to say about Earth 2 #15. The JSA fights the Terrors and get their asses kicked, Hawkgirl follows the bread-trail of clues regarding Sam’s murder to a place where she gets caught in a net, and Mister Miracle and Big Barda fight Fury while some of Miracle’s back-story is explained, only to be interrupted by Red Tornado. Granted, everything looks really awesome, and there isn’t really fault to it, it’s just that, overall, not much happened. Surprisingly, I find the next big arc they’re moving toward to be a bit more interesting, and that’s taking place AFTER James Robinson leaves, so…Huh? Me confused now.

Batman #23…Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo have finally brought us to THAT point in the story. No, he’s not in the costume yet. Before that. That moment where he’s sitting in the chair, and he’s speaking to the ghost of his father, and sees the dark figure, and says “Yes, Father. I shall become a bat.” Also, the Red Hood Gang leader’s motivations are explained a bit more, we get some genuine goodness out of Alfred and Edward Nygma. If I had a single problem with this book, it’s simply that Snyder seems to be having some trouble deciding if Batman: Year One is still in canon with this story, or if Zero Year is the replacement origin for Batman. I honestly don’t care which he decides, although looking at how the scene with the bat is depicted…Yeah, it’s the new origin for the New 52 Batman. And again, I don’t care. I know a lot of people LOVE Year One, but personally, you’re not gonna hear me weep over the fact that Frank Miller’s take on Batman’s origins that also showed Selina Kyle as a prostitute and Jim Gordon as an adulterer has been retconned (although I hope the better parts of the story, of which there are still plenty, manage to pop up).

Before I talk about Nightwing #23, I wanna share a revelation I’ve had recently. I finally figured out what it is I love so much about the Nightwing book in its current setting and plot: It honestly reminds me a lot of Spider-man before they ruined Spider-man. Think about it: Snarky and acrobatic superhero with a complicated love life and a tragic childhood fights to protect a city that isn’t 100% sure whether to trust him or not. Hell, even the red on his upper torso and arms kinda makes his costume resemble Spider-man’s a little bit. Although, I should probably be careful saying stuff like this. Otherwise, instead of his constant attempts to kill off Dick Grayson, Dan Didio might just decide to force Kyle Higgins to write a story where Dick sells out his loved ones to the devil.

Anyway, getting back to Nightwing #23, it continues to be a great read. Nightwing is fighting to protect the people of Chicago, but he’s clearly beginning to run on fumes, as he’s apparently been doing this for several days. Then again, he might’ve gotten a booster from the red-head he saves who gives him a big one on the lips (What IS it with you and red-heads, Richard? Barbara, Starfire, you even had a crush on Batwoman for a while). Meanwhile, the Mayor’s denying the allegations of the Prankster, even though his own men have pretty much figured out the truth of it all, but in the end, Prankster ups the game a bit by apparently kidnapping the Mayor. However, despite all this, the single last person in the world that Nightwing would ever expect to give him aid offers to help stop Prankster: Tony Zucco, the man who murdered Dick’s parents, and the very reason Nightwing came to Chicago in the first place…So tell me something, Dick, IS it like a free ride when you’ve already paid? lol

So after Fearless Defenders #7 a couple of weeks back, I was kinda confused, so I checked in with Cullen Bunn on Twitter to figure out exactly what had happened to Annabelle and Valkyrie. To quote his exact words, he said “They switch, like Don Blake and Thor….but there are some twists to how it works.” And before anyone asks, no, Valkyrie is NOT already hosting a body, as to again quote Bunn, “She’s just herself these days, I guess, ever since she was ‘reborn’ post Ragnarok.” Anyway, this is kind of a filler done-in-one book, but a good one. Plenty of great scenes, and a lot of references that got a laugh outta me like Misty Knight in the intro page talking about how Tumblr was pretty upset over Valkyrie killing Annabelle. Also, apparently Elsa Bloodstone, the monster hunter, is now a member of the team, and we get some info regarding the forming Doom Maidens. All in all, good stuff.

Red Sonja #2, and HOLY SHIT. Again, this is clearly Gail Simone being allowed to write whatever the frak she wants, and it is GLORIOUS. Although, there’s one scene that makes me wonder if she inherited Scott Snyder’s fear of horses. lol Anyway, we get some more glimpses of her time spent at the arena, fighting for her life, until only she and her now opponent, Annisia, were the last girls left. They managed to escape that fate, but now they’re on opposing sides, Annisia motivated by the ghosts of their fallen comrades at the arena that only she can see and may not even be real. Anyway, long story short, it turns out Red Sonja has the plague, and she surrenders to save the lives of the people she’s protecting, but Annisia has her marked and exiled to the snowy mountains to wait out the last of her days…Yeah, somehow, I don’t expect this badass to die to something like the plague. 🙂

Anyway, that’s all I bought this past week. I’m thinking from here on out, I may need to change the layout of how I do my recaps of what I buy every Wednesday, but as far as next week goes, we’ll see Supergirl taking on Cyborg Superman some more, we’ll see Superman battling the alien kept underground by the military, we’ll see the X-Men prepare for Battle of the Atom, and we’ll see Batman teaming up with Nightwing and…Robin?! See you guys then! Ja né!

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What I Bought Today – Batman Incorporated #12, Earth 2 #14, The Movement #3 (WARNING – SPOILERS)

Well, it’s Wednesday, so let’s take a look at…

Kind late today, I know, but that’s because I went in earlier and they weren’t ready since the books were late due to Monday being a holiday, so I had to go back later. No biggie, though, it happens. So, let’s start with Batman Incorporated #12.

So, only one more issue to go after this one, which means it’s time for rapid-fire holy-crap-moment deployment! So Batman comes sailing in, decked out in his exo-skeleton/Azrael costume/Man-Bat serum look. Don’t worry, though, the swarm of bats accompanying him are injected with the antidote to the Man-Bat serum, making them the perfect air-to-air combatants for Talia‘s Man-Bat army, as well as allowing Batman to gradually recover, basically using the Man-Bat as an early edge against The Heretic. The fight between the two is violent as hell, and the reveal of what The Heretic looks like under his own cowl may supply you with nightmare fuel for the next few weeks, especially after he fails in both stopping Batman AND in heeding Talia’s orders, which causes her to decapitate the clone of her own son. Talia then blows up Wayne Tower, then arrives at the Bat Cave for the final showdown with Batman, all the while it seems there’s a far bigger picture to worry about, one that is made known to Batman Inc. by a woman who seems vaguely familiar to Nightwing. Overall, great issue, can’t wait for the final issue, but going to be sad to see the end of Grant Morrison‘s run with Batman.

Earth 2 #14…I kinda have mixed feelings about. Not that it’s bad or anything, it’s still really good, but I have a slight issue with Alan Scott‘s plan here. Basically, they decide to attack Steppenwolf’s forces in the country he took over before the World Army gets there, take down the outer defenses and soften up the capital, then Alan will use his broadcasting corporation to spin the heck outta the story so the public will come to instantly trust in them and the World Army will leave them alone. Granted, I understand that the World Army hasn’t exactly made life easy for them in this series, but this seems like rather selfish and foolish behaviour, and Dr. Fate and Jay Garrick are apparently just fine with it. So they arrive, they smash baddies, Steppenwolf orders his people to release the hounds…no, really, he says that. And yes, I DID imagine Mr. Burns‘ voice over that. However, while the JSA manage to take down quite a few enemy soldiers, it isn’t long before Wesley Dodds, the Sandmen, The Atom, and apparently Earth 2’s version of Red Arrow, all arrive a bit ahead of schedule, looking mighty pissed with the JSA, all the while Commander Khan and Mister Terrific are not far behind. It seems they were going for the more subtle and sneaky approach against a foe from Apokolips, and the JSA coming in guns blazing kinda ruined that. GL tries to keep everyone calm and work out an alternative for everyone, but it seems there’s not much time for that, as the Hunger Dogs of Steppenwolf have arrived to cause all kinds of crap.

The Movement #3 was…hang on a sec, I gotta ask something: Gail Simone? Were you locked in closets as a kid or something? Because you’re a really great writer, I love your work, but there’s kind of this darker aspect to a lot of your writing nowadays that makes me think there’s something not quite right in your head. o.O Anyway, The Movement continues to be compelling as we learn a bit more about certain members of the cast. The team discovers a bit more about who is really behind the killings in the city from Rainmaker, who I believe is a character from the Wildstorm Universe, but I’m not too familiar with her. I think she’s supposed to be some kind of a witch (at least that’s what Burden keeps calling her), and that she’s a lesbian, as she semi-discreetly gives Virtue her number, who jokes about it a bit…before pocketing it when no one is looking. Interested to see what happens there. Anyway, it seems they have issues a bit closer to home, as the police have Kartharsis (during which we get to see some of that darker writing I mentioned come into play), and when initial attempts to negotiate a hostage trade with the cops fails, Virtue instead decides to let the people of the city under their protection aid as they seek to literally tear down the police department. Um, eep?

Anyway, that’s it for this week. Btw, the reason I thought this week would be an expensive one is because I thought the newest issue of Fearless Defenders and the first issue of Gail Simone’s Red Sonja would be coming out. Apparently not so, so only three books this week. Not sure if they come out next week or not, but either way, check in then to see what I buy. Ja ne!

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• Batman Incorporated #12 (comicvine.com)
• Andy Kubert Launches “Damian: Son of Batman” In October (comicbookresources.com)
• Earth 2 #14 (comicvine.com)
• New Releases: July 3rd (catywhomp.wordpress.com)
• Wonder Woman graphic novel: Grant Morrison takes on the feminist icon (herocomplex.latimes.com)
• Gail Simone praises male reader support (digitalspy.co.uk)

What I Bought Today – Detective Comics #21, Earth 2 #13, The Movement #2, Batman: Li’l Gotham #2, The Fearless Defenders #5

Well, my birthday has come and gone, but it is now officially Wednesday, so it is time to check out…

…with my birthday money. And whoo, did I get a lot of books, so let’s start off with The Adventures of Harper Row #3!…Oh, sorry, I mean Detective Comics #21. lol

Okay, I should note that I didn’t buy Detective Comics #0, since it was done by the previous team who did Detective Comics that I REALLY didn’t like, so I’m a little lost on some stuff that happens here. The jist of it from what I can tell is that an ex-lover of Bruce’s who turned out to be an assassin is back and looking to kill him. Fortunately, it’s Harper Row to the rescue, reminding us all why she’s so awesome. Unfortunately, the assassin gets away, but is punished by her boss: Ra’s al Ghul, who appears to be out of his cell and back in power. In the back-up, we see that Kirk Langstrom is back, his wife having found him and returned him at some point, but is still transforming into the Man-Bat at night. Apparently, he likes the power it gives him, and feels he needs it to be of any use to the people on the streets of Gotham City. Too bad a John Doe is discovered that leaves him to believe he may have committed murder. Uh oh.

Earth 2 #13 picks up where the Annual left off, with Captain Steel headed off to a fire pit in Rio de Janeiro, one of the many created by Terry Sloan. While he’s doing that, Hawkgirl is still tracking down clues regarding why Green Lantern‘s lover, Sam, was murdered, and how and why he’s connected to Apokolips forces. Fighting a horde of giant Apokorats, she nearly gets taken down by a surprise attack, only for her attacker to be killed by an exploding Batarang from the new Batman…Damn, this guy is one cold mother frakker. Meanwhile, Captain Steel emerges from the fire pit, horribly burnt and with his left arm completely gone, screaming they have to save the world from “her”. And who is her? The Red Lantern!

Before I get to the main plot of The Movement, I should clear up an error I made with the first issue. I said that the main cast are all completely new characters. Not so. Two of them have appeared before. Katharsis was in a couple of issues of Batgirl that I missed due to getting into the series late, and Tremor was actually a member of Secret Six before the reboot. My bad, folks. Speaking of Katharsis, it seems that she’s got a major chip on her shoulder and is pretty much out to just kill cops. This rubs Virtue the wrong way, and she and the rest of the team go looking into a lead regarding the killer in Coral City, while Katharsis goes looking for the source of the corruption in town, only to find herself in a massive brawl with the CCPD. Also, Mouse mourns one of his fallen rat friends…and then eats it… … …Gail Simone, I love ya and all, but you can be kinda sick sometimes. lol

Gotham City Sirens, HO! XD

Batman: Li’l Gotham #2, HOLYCRAPBLUENIGHTWING!!! Seriously, blue Nightwing being in this book is frigging awesome. I don’t think anything could beat that-HOLYCRAPGOTHAMCITYSIRENS!!! So yeah, plenty of awesomeness in this book, and all kept clean enough that kids can read it and enjoy. We need more books like this, for realsies.

…Huh. It’s not a video game, and yet I WANT that video game. 😛

I’d heard about The Fearless Defenders for a while now, so I decided to pick up #5 today. Lucky for me, it makes a good first impression with me, as I’m a sucker for both kickass super-heroines and situations that call for LOTS of heroes in the same place at the same time. Can’t say as I know too much else about what’s going on, only that Valkyrie has brought Hippolyta (Marvel’s Warrior Woman) and Dani Moonstar to Descanso De Deus in Brazil, they fight Doom Maidens, Caroline LeFay, and Mr. Raven, but are hopelessly outnumbered until Misty Knight arrives with MASSIVE back-up, as you can tell from the cover. Unfortunately, while victory is theirs, Valkyrie becomes Brunhilde again, which leaves She-Hulk to try to knock some sense into her. Note to self: Bring snacks for next issue’s fight, as well as tissues since someone is being advertised to die.

*SIGHS HARD* Okay, so that’s everything for today. lol Check in next week when I…Are you kidding me?! Apparently Batman, Batgirl, Nightwing, Li’l Gotham, and Superman Unchained are ALL gonna get released on the same frakking day…I’m Jyger85, and I have a serious issue. lol Ja né.

What I Bought Today – Detective Comics #20, Earth 2 #12, The Movement #1 (WARNING – SPOILERS)

Say, it’s Wednesday, isn’t it? Guess that means I should take a minute to talk about…

We got some kickass comics this week, including one that’s brand spanking new one, completely new and fresh characters to it. So, let’s start off with Detective Comics #20…or is it #901, if last month’s was the 900th? I dunno, should I count it as #901? Lemme know in the comments. But anyway, here’s #20 of the current numbering system.

So the reign of Emperor Penguin is pretty much over at this point, which I think is a bit too soon to end it. Still, seems as though he may be looking to make a comeback. Long story short, Ignatius Ogilvy seems to have transformed himself with a modified Man-Bat serum, some stuff he obtained from Poison Ivy that makes his skin under his fur coated in a bark-like coating, and some sort of variation of Venom. He’s not as strong as Bane, mind you, but this transformation gives him an edge over Batman who never considered Emperor Penguin that big a threat for the amount of time that he’s known of him. However, a recently pardoned Penguin, of all people, aids Batman due to their mutual desire to bring Ogilvy down. Following Ogilvy’s arrest, Cobblepot decides to return the rights of the Children’s Centre to Bruce Wayne and renaming it the Martha Wayne Children’s Centre, feeling that putting himself out there made him a target and that he must return to the shadows for now. In the meantime, though, Ogilvy is sent to Blackgate Prison, quickly making a name for himself by brutally killing ‘The Boss’ of the prisoners, renaming himself Emperor Blackgate.

Earth 2 #12, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, EARTH 2 IS ONE YEAR OLD!

In fact, note to self: Do a Jyger’s Favourite 5 of favourite Earth 2 moments. But anyway, not really that much to talk about, other than Doctor Fate taking down Wotan in the skies over Boston while Flash and Green Lantern (who got involuntarily pulled there by the ring, it seems) run interference to keep the World Army from getting involved, then they go back to Alan’s to hide out, only to learn that the World Army has declared war on the country Steppenwolf is running. However, what is a bigger story to me, Green Lantern and Hawkgirl follow a trail of clues they gathered regarding Sam’s murder to a container at a dock in Macau, said to contain a clue as to why Sam was murdered…the contents of which being a bunch of dead Parademons. LONG dead, from the looks of things. It seems that Sam’s murder has more to do with the long-running plot of the story than originally met the eye.

And finally, we have the first issue of Gail Simone‘s The Movement. And since this features a brand new cast of characters…

From left to right: Mouse, Tremor, Virtue, Katharsis, and Burden

Anyway, lemme just fill you in on some of the details, since I want you guys to go out and buy this comic yourselves: The story takes place in Coral City. The cops in this story, as well as pretty much every single bureaucrat in the city, are corrupt as shit. A murderer is running around town cutting people’s eyes out (comic is rated T+, btw). A group called The Movement are recording and unveiling the shady dealings of police officers under the guise of a hacker group called Channel M, while also investigating the murders, and pretty much keeping the cops out of everywhere from Tenth to Twentieth Street, proclaiming it as theirs. I’m not sure if The Movement are supposed to be good guys or anti-heroes, but either way, there’s a definite sense of the 99% conflicting against the 1% in this story. Not quite sure where it’s headed, but I’m definitely interested enough to keep buying and see what happens.

Anyway, that’s all for today. This Saturday, I will be going to GameZilla for Free Comic Book Day, so I’ll be sure to buy something there. And next week, if the schedule on the DC website is accurate (God, I hate months with 5 Wednesdays, they always do something weird with the schedule those months), I should be getting Batman #20, Batman and Robin #20 (Batman and Red Hood), and Justice League of America #3. Ja né!