News of the Right

Detective Comics #854: Finally Batwoman! I have to admit I was a little nervous to get this comic at first because it’s written by Greg Rucka. 52 Greg Rucka (though to be fair, he wasn’t alone in that mess. Still, once bitten, twice shy.). Rucka’s story is lyrical, almost a song or part of an opera. If the art were in anyone else’s hands besides J. H. Harrison’s, the book would totally fall apart like a cheap red wig. For now, I’m hooked. A

Wonder Woman #33: I’m running dangerously close to giving Gail Simone Rachel Ray Face, so all I’m going to say is that this was another excellent read except the end was a bit to abrupt for me. One more issue to resolve the Genocide threat (or at least make its whereabouts more clear) and to really let Zeus and Ares’ plans unfold into a HUGE (well, HUGE-er) mess! Ah, well. B

Madame Xanadu #12: Matt and Michael’s Exodus Noir reminds me of the old Sandman Mystery Theatre – sort of dark, sort of sketchy, sort of fun, but always heading towards a horrible end for the titular character. Oooh, foreshadowing. A

Thor #602: Gods are strange creatures of inertia and folly, like really big rocks rolling down a hill. Or across the bottom of a river. I’ve yet to see any compelling evidence that they think anything through before they go off half-cocked and do it (yeah, I’m looking at you, too, Genesis!). Even the “good” ones let their goodness get in the way of accomplishing anything truly “good”. For example, moving all the Asgardians to Latveria – totally poorly planned. Keeping Loki around when no one trusts him/her – well, that just defies wisdom. Weird that the one mortal in the company of the gods is the only one who wants to actively squelch evil. A

Uncanny X-Men #512: My so far least favorite aspect of the team – The X-Club – heads back to the turn of the 20th century to find the parental DNA of the original Mutant X, and as it turns out, I didn’t want to burn pictures of Matt Fraction at midnight. If I had one complaint, it would be the “Hey, things in the past are just like they are in the present!” parallelism. One would think that someone would have known about an earlier Shaw who ran the Hellfire Club 100 years ago, but such is the spurious logic of comic book and time travel. In Fraction’s defense, even Joss Whedon screwed it up in Runaways. B+

Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men Utopia: About two months ago, Ben and I went to go see X-Men Origins: Wolverine, not because we had to but because we needed a mental vacation after a particularly stressful week. We were holding hands, waiting for hte movie to begin when six guys filed into the row behind us, sat on my far left and started speaking in Spanish about “the fucking fags over there.” Myself being half-deaf didn’t hear a word of it, but Ben did, and he was extremely uncomfortable. He wanted to move. I didn’t. And, long story short, I got my way. When the movie started these guys shut up, watched the film and left moments after the credits started rolling. Reading Utopia was kind of like that experience. For no really good reason, bigots feel it’s their right (or, Heaven help us, their god-given duty) to expunge “the Other”, demonize them, make them unwelcome. There are also assdancers like Norman Osborne who feel that they deserve to rule and have no compunction against throwing up (natural) “law and order” to get their way. I find this lack of Justice unsettling, which in turn makes me angry. Then I think about those guys at the movie theatre and wonder if they realized they were cheering for “the Other” to win, and if they know that they are seen as “the Other” just as Ben and I. Probably not. More’s the pity. And to Matt Fraction: the descriptive caption boxes are past their prime. A

Barack the Barbarian #1: Terribly unsubtle, but was a fun read. Lord knows that satire doesn’t have to be an épée, but more often than not, it’s a blunt and forceful cudgel. I have my own parody of Marriage Equality coming out soon, and it’s also terribly unsubtle (i.e., doesn’t follow the rule that the best parody is transparent), but in my own mind it could have been better. Next time. B-

Supergirl #40: Beyond Reactron’s ham-handed “I lied to you the first time we met. Supergirl.” – and really, what was the point of this? There has to be a ton of better ways to change continuity than to just say, “Ha ha ha! I lied!” Yeah, he’s a villain and all, but why “confess” at this moment? And as a villain, can his confession be trusted? Wouldn’t it have been easier (and possibly cooler) to have his “starsuit” grow unstable and.. I dunno, create a micro-black hole that could destroy all life on Earth? That took me ten seconds and now I have a three issue story-arc for future use. Weird. – I enjoyed this issue, even the revelation for Superwoman’s identity, which some claim to have seen coming “miles away” (but never mentioned it until after the issue was published, so, yeah, I’m calling shenanigans). I’m not sure I’ll continue reading Supergirl beyond the next issue once spoiler alert! L.L. spells out her and daddy’s diabolical plan to make the world a safer place from aliens (and is that a U.S./Mexico metaphor the way the X-Men titles are a gay metaphor?). Unless, of course, a micro-black hole is coming in the near future… A

Detective Comics #853: I think if Buffy had been told at the end of her life in Season Five that her reward for being The Slayer was to be The Slayer, she would have cocked her head, pouted sarcastically and said something clever like, “So what you’re saying is you forgot to get me a present and this is the best you could do at the last minute?” Batman, whichever Batman we are reading about here, if not actually all of them, isn’t that snappy with the retorts and actually seems content with the results (at least he didn’t complain too hard). Gaiman’s follow-through on this story is better than he’s had of late, managing to hit a ton of high notes in this Batman’s swan song (including an appearance by the original Batgirl, a fave character of mine!), but ultimately, I’m going to take this story in the same vein as The Last Galactus Story and not worry about continuity. This time. A-

Thor #601: Ah I was hoping that Loki was going to tease the I’ve-Got-Sif’s-Body-and-Nobody-Likes-Me evil plot out a bit longer, but i suppose he knows what he’s doing because, after all, he got Balder to relocate every Asgardian (and one very love-struck Kansasian… Kansasite? Kansasist? Whichever.) to Latveria where Doctor Doom will welcome them all, but not feel obligated to treat them as anything other than refugees. Apparently all Asgardians except Loki like having one sovereign to rule them all. Who knew? And yet, I don’t find this to be a fault in JMS’ writing; I find it to be a fault in the characters of the Asagardian, because I totally believed that they would do this. They may be gods. but they’ve never been the deepest of thinkers. Except that Volstagg. He’s like Aristotle levels of deep. A

Kick-Ass #6: I’m waiting for someone to glom onto Mark Millar being a conservative asshole because of what he said about Democrats being baby murderers and murderer lovers, because I’m pretty sure that’s the reaction Millar wants people to have. Then I want to see the shitstorm that kicks up as people get mad at him and he laughs because he wanted people mad and he got what he wanted. I dunno. I’m still torn as to whether this guy can write or if he can just write to provoke people’s baser emotions. I also ask myself if I’ll go see the Kick-Ass movie when it comes out this summer (or whenever). I see it as a Die Hard meets American History X sorta cowboyish affair. We’ll see. B

Batman #686: I only managed to read Batman the first night after comics shopping because I was busy with play practice and dating interests. I also chose this to read because it
was written by Gaiman, whom I adore, but whom I’m also beginning to see wane a bit. I like the set up, but of late Gaiman’s set up hasn’t been the problem with his work; the problem has been the
pay-off (seriously, I still can’t believe The Graveyard Book won the Newbery). I’ll wait ’til next issue (apparently the last Batman comic) before I decide how successful the story was or wasn’t, but for now, I’m intrigued by the dream-like presentation (of course. How else would Gaiman write a DC story?) and Andy Kubert’s expressive art. A

Action Comics #874: One of the most striking scenes in this issue was Superman in the Fortress of Solitude looking at pictures of a long-dead and somewhat idyllic Krypton. He laments that for years he had an idea of how his home planet must have been – maybe mostly through wishful thinking – but now facing the reality of being descended from a race of militant jerks he feels lost. I share that feeling with him. The Kryptonian race may have let itself be destroyed, but their darker side was never hinted at. A close runner-up is Mon-El telling his BFF Kal-El that he would prefer to die with him that be voided in the collapsing Phantom Zone. Awwh! Pablo Raimondi’s lines are wonderfully expressive and fun. Light bodies fly through the air, topped by dark, heavy faces. A

X-Infernus #3: With the conformation that there will be a new New Mutants series (how it will fit into general continuity remains to be seen), the return of Illyana Magik wasn’t too unexpected in this issue, but it was still welcome. And, dammit, she’s all these years older and still the head-strong and brash teenager from her days in the New Mutants. Still, I can’t help but love her. Of all the X-Men (aside from the original, non-resurrected, self-sacrificing Phoenix), she ranks as a true tragic heroine. Sadly, with one issue left, I fear she may go the way of all tragic figures. A-

Thor #600: I could have done without the backup stories, mostly because I’ve seen them all before (I think they were in a one-shot called Tales of Asgard from back when I was in high school) and they did nothing to add to the 600thness of this issue. I’m torn on how I feel about this issue. I like how JMS keeps up the characterization of the Asgardian and Kansasian folk (which must be incredibly difficult in the former’s case; it would be so easy to drift into (no offense) Lee-Kirby staunch declarations riddled with “thees” and “thous” and turn some pretty speeches into vaudeville), but that seems to be going away with Thor’s banishment from Asgard. And wasn’t he banished before (like, 1950’s “before”)? My fear is that the imaginative gold JMS has put into the story – Asgard in Kansas, the transsexual Loki/Sif, Thor as a diplomat (now outlaw?) – will be lost if Thor goes his own way. By the way, why does Thor have an uruz rune on his belt? B+

Getting ready for the holiday took me away from reviewing comics for a few weeks, so to catch up, here are my encapsulated opinions. Feel free to email me for deatils.

X-Infernus #1: Strong start with diabolical subplots. I’m hoping this leads to a reincarnation of The New Mutants. A

Dark Reign #1: Oh noes! Another event!! In its favor, however, is its short run (three months according to the checklist). Working against it is that it’s another event.

Secret Six #4: Simone’s idiom of gelling disparate elements borders on vaudeville at times, but it continues to intrigue. A-

Action Comics #872: “New Krypton” continues by adding more useless characters to the board (“Creature Commandos”? Really?) while finally touching the main conflict. B-

Final Crisis Revelation #4: DC’s treatise on the Nature of God is one of the most disconcerting comic read of the year. Loves it. A+

Final Crisis #5: DC’s Millennium + 20 years = Final Crisis #5.

Supergirl #36: The penultimate chapter of “New Krypton” finds Alura being a horrible mother and a krytpo-centered, myopic slattern. I wish this had actually happened back in chapter 3. A

Manhunter #37: While I normally don’t like “X years later” jumps in plots (the atrocious A.I. still haunts me), Andreyko’s jump gives me a sense of continuity that will extend beyond the last (next) issue. A+

Hellblazer #250: Old-fashioned holiday fun the way they used to do it in Hell. A

Wonder Woman #27: Gail Simone loves these characters as demonstrated by the rich textures and motivations and interactions she gives them. Her Genocide scares me way more than her Junior. A

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight #20: Cool idea, but after the pointless “Return of Fray” storyline, do we really need another break from the Big Bad’s arc? My magic eight ball says, “Definitely not.” C+

Runaways #5: I’m starting to find the “the best way to end a conflict is to just end it” idiom to be a fun one. It let’s the story move on to more interesting problems. Other than that, not much happens. B

Thor #12: Loki continues to rise as my favorite transsexual villain as he and Hela make plans to rule everything. A+

X-Men NOIR #1: Ugh. They did it better on Smallville’s “Noir” episode (and that sucked eggs).

Ultimatum #2: It seems the Wasp can’t get a dignified death in any universe A-

Superman #681: Part two of “New Krypton” sees Lex Luthor’s worst nightmare come true – Earth inhabited by out-of-control aliens. Not that the Kryptonians are wreaking havok everywhere they go (the dead blue whale aside), but with an overly defensive and smarmy-looking Thara Ak-Var and an alien-killing super-being thrown into the mix, it’s only a matter of time before cities start to fall. I hope. Obviously, the 100,000 Kryptonians are going to stay around Earth because they would nullify the need for any other superhero title again ever. However, the method and motive of their departure are still to be told. The best scene of the entire issue is between Martha Kent and the one member of the Superman Family who knows where he’s needed the most. Good boy! A

Madame Xanadu #5: If I had one criticism of this book, it would be that the centuries are slipping by way too fast. Matt Wagner doesn’t have to hit all the major events from 1000 A.D. to the present, but maybe a brief layover in the Renaissance would have been nice. A visit with Nostradamus perhaps. The “discovery” of America and subsequent slaughter of the American Indians would have topped my list of events for Miss X to run to. This is not to say that the French Revolution isn’t high on drama and intrigue; it is. I’m just saying there could have been a few more stops between there and here. B

1985 #6: I read this in the store because I had to see how it ended, and… really? “Everybody go home!”? That was the only logical conclusion to this story Mark Millar could come up with? It was so sad I wanted to pat it on the head and help it find it’s mommy because it was obviously lost. Alas, poor highly-anticipated mini-series, we hardly knew ye. F

Thor #11: When Captain America died last year, I found myself not caring too much. Not because I didn’t like Cap, but because his death was the latest in a series of ploys to shock and awe Marvel readers. And in the final analysis, it didn’t seem that anyone in the Marvel U cared. At all. Until this month. Don and Thor’s goodbyes to Captain America seem to be JMS’s none-to-veiled commentary on the state of American politics – where the speculation of what a hero would do overshadows the good s/he accomplished. When “who would Captain America vote for?” (terribly paralleling the “Jesus wants you to vote for McCain” screeds of late) is the best memorial people can create, it’s heartening to see that at least Thor remembers how to honor a friend and hero. A+

Thor: The Truth of History: Can anything done by Alan Davis be bad? Never (even if his Thor doesn’t like the Egyptians very much.)! A

Runaways #3: “If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s intolerance.” Recent Log Cabin Republicans whining aside, there is something to be said about not tolerating intolerance, especially the kind that leads to violence or the demonization of “the other”. Even Brecht knew this. “Intolerant” is a nice way of saying “s/he’s an ignorant motherfucker”. I suppose that if people wallowed in their ignorance and left everyone else out, it would be OK, but for whatever reason, they never do. Like Typhoid Mary, they spread ignorance and fear and anger. That was what I got out of this issue. A

Final Crisis #4: FINALLY!!!! The main FC book isn’t bogged down by its own cleverness hits its stride. It still saddens me that most of the other DC books refuse to acknowledge any of this is even going on (even if it is just two weeks in the future), because according to the Flash, the whole multiverse is teetering on the brink of the Abyss. And *sigh* wasn’t Barry’s kissing Iris just about the best thing to happen in comics in years? It’s still unclear to me who Turpin met at the Dark Side Club in issue #1 if he’s being infested by Darkseid in this issue, but I am clear that he’s now two hard-nosed bad-asses in one. A+

New Krypton: I have a feeling this is going to be messy by the end, mostly because Superman is a dick in this issue. I know there’s superdickery.com which exploits the older pre-”Boy Scout” days of Supes, but really, there is no excuse for him throwing his human parents and Earth under the bus just so the Kryptonians don’t get their red undies in a twist (I jest, of course; their undies come in all sorts of colors, not just red). First, he gives props to Jor-El and his tape-recorded civics lessons for helping him to turn out the way he is today, side-stepping the fact that it was really the recently departed Jonathan Kent who did that. Whu…? Worse, the juxaposition of Zor, Alura, Kara and Kal having “the first El family dinner in ages” while Ma Kent eats funeral leftovers alone back on the farm is a foreboding foreshadowing if ever I saw one. If Superman knew nothing else about Kryptonian culture, he should at least know it was their arrogance that got them blowed up in the first place. How he thinks a few years in a bottle mellowed them out is beyond me, and why he didn’t take umbrage with the whale-killing Kryptonian… well, this event has “spare the rod and spoil the child” written all over it. Still, the writing is tense and I’m going to follow this story across every issue. A

Fantastic Four: True Story #1: According to this month’s solicitations, one should expect that





which is so frenetic of language it couldn’t be outdone. Right? Oh, so very wrong. Scroll a little further down the page and one finds:





They come on a little strong, don’t they? While I can’t speak to the content of True Believers, I can for True Story. Was the title oversold? The package more delightful than the present? Most definitely. The idea is a good one (in a Gaiman-after-an-all-night-bender kind of way), but the execution of the characters by Cornell (Reed saying that reading Sue’s word balloon was “cool”? Unlikely.) and the uneven artwork of Domingues (it got better by the end, except for Sue’s hair) has a lark-y quality that doesn’t fly very gracefully nor very far before falling to Earth. D+ (Werd to Joveth for the solicitation info.)

Thor #10: I said I wasn’t going to pick up this issue, but with the opening pages set in Kansas (the part of the MJS’s plot I’ve found to be most winning), I forewent my resolution and was thrilled to find the plot was not as same same same as I had thought it would become. Loki, no longer the “god of lies” (and per se, no longer a god), is now a messenger of truth, but as any bridesmaid confronted by the question “Do you like the dress I picked out for you?” knows, the truth can hurt. A

Justice Society of America Annual #1: I don’t typically follow the JSA, but with all the anticipation surrounding this issue and what it means for Final Crisis (if anything) and Power Girl (a lot), I forked over my $3.99 and discovered a title I’ll be adding to my regular pull list. Dammit. My only fear is that there will never be a definitive answer to “Who is Power Girl?”, just an end to the story arc. Bonus: Helena Wayne as The Huntress. A

In other news:

Orson Scott Card calls gay marriage “the end of democracy in America”, but he’s not a homophobe (much like Dave Sim isn’t a misogynist). No, no. Paranoid science fiction writer living in a paranoid world? Yeah, I’ll buy that. AfterElton.com reacts.

Also from AfterElton.com, an editorial about the new X-Files movie. I haven’t seen it myself and before I comment I will be sure to. My only complaint (SPOILER ALERT!): no aliens!!!!

Finally, from Fanboys of the Universe via Joveth, a marvelous kiss:

Giant-Size Astonishing X-Men #1: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A+

Final Crisis #1: There will be inevitable comparisons to the first DC crisis (Crisis on Infinite Earths), and Final Crisis may look a bit worse for it. In the first crisis, even though we knew universes were being destroyed and that the cloud would eventually come to the proper DCU, there was enough suspense about the who and the why (to say nothing of the excitement of seeing every DCU character interacting and the shocking deaths along the way) to buoy readers along and advance the plot. Final Crisis plods unnecessarily through the first issue and nothing really happens. I’m sure Grant Morrison has an amazing trick up his sleeve to get everything back to rights, but his leisurely legerdemain had me crying in frustration. And how did John Stewart not recognize Orion? Anyone remember a little thing called Cosmic Odyssey? C-

1985 #1: Millar is all about the intersection of reality and superheroes, as evidenced by Kick Ass, Ultimates and now 1985. Having been a young comics nerd in 1985 myself, there’s a lot of familiarity in these pages, especially in the comic shop with the wall-of-nostalgic-covers, but the story doesn’t compel me to read further. Really, do the centerpiece villains have the be the Vulture and the Mole Man? C

Thor #9: This will, no doubt, be my last issue of Thor. I liked the idea of him reconstituting the Asgardians and making neighbors with the Kansasians, but with this issue, we’re back to Loki (Lokie? Lokishe? Lokette?) trying to fuck around with everyone and divide loyalties and make herself look better than she really is. It’s the old Thor storylines again. This saddens me because the book started off hot, now it’s back to the tepidness that got it canceled in the first place. C

Hellblazer #144: Stories about libraries of “lost” books are like porn to me. Tales of bad popes and a Deity that really does watch what we do and secret theologies are dangerous porn, but more compelling than “cuz the Bible tells me so.” Hellblazer is my new dudetube. A+

House of Mystery #1: I know I enjoyed reading this book, but I’m not as interested in the “plot” as I am in the stories the people in the house tell (or will tell). Call me old-fashioned, but I’d like to see something like the original House of Mystery with several enjoyable, fun and vile stories per issue. B+

Wonder Woman #20: Wonder Woman meets Beowulf and The Stalker. Nice and kitschy with a strong retro spin. So very 2008. A

Grendel: Behold the Devil #7: Oh, Matt. MattMattMattMattMatt. You tricked me again. It’s my fault, really. I was bedazzled by your violent streak and charmed by your body count. The zombies distracted me from the flimsy story and now… the final betrayal: your penultimate issue is a summary of all the old Comico Grendel incarnations: Christine Spar and on. Oh, Matt. That’s why the Good Lord invented Wikipedia. D

The Dresden Files #1 – 2: SciFi couldn’t get it right, and gods love the Dabel Brothers for trying to get it right, but Harry Dresden still doesn’t have a decent half-life outside of his novel element. The story – Welcome to the Jungle – is intriguing, but the characters seem uncharacteristic, and the art is of the Witchblade boobs-and-abs-a-poppin’ style, which the cover art completely belies. B-

Thor #8: Will Thor and/or Don Blake ever know the touch of a woman again? I mean, one that isn’t a slap across the face. Don proves that he’s Thor’s wingman through-and-through by going off in search of Lady Sif, leaving Jane Foster’s feelings as collateral damage. And with Loki sporting boobs now, you know there won’t be any love lost on that front either (as proven in this issue). A-

Grendel: Behold the Devil #6: I’ve always enjoyed Matt Wagner’s forays into the supernatural – Mage (the first series only) and The Demon especially. I keep forgetting that Grendel is also a supernatural story, probably because of the gang wars and intense violence. I think that Matt forgets that sometimes too. Thankfully, he’s back on track with this issue. A

Young Avengers presents Hulkling: Yay, Hulkling! Boo, Captain Marvel being alive by way of some ridiculous time-travel conceit! Given that I have my own father issues and that The Lion King makes me boo hoo every time I watch it, I was a little disappointed that I didn’t even get a little eye moisture reading this story. At least they admitted that Mar-vell was going to go back to his regular time and die like he should. B

Helen Killer #1: I have been waiting (rather impatiently) for this comic book for three months and the pay-off has been worth every minute of the wait. Kreisberg and Rice show us a Helen Keller who is at once a sheltered young woman (literally and metaphorically speaking) on the verge of figuring out who she can be and ready to break a guy’s hand just because she can. I felt actual glee when Helen beat the tar out of some street thugs. It was like seeing Mother Theresa take a smoke break. I cannot emphasize strongly enough how much you need to get this book! Oh, the darkness! A++

And how about this, The Dresden Files #1 sold out! Holy poop! After the disappointing Sci Fi TV series, it’s good to see enthusiasm for James Butcher’s stories hasn’t waned. Sadly, I didn’t get a copy before they were all gone *single tear*

Thor #6: Marco Djurdjevic takes over penciling duties this issue as Thor learns the nature of being the son of a god who was the son of a god: “it’s all the same shit.” Plus, in a fit of quantum jiggling, Don Blake goes in search of Jane Foster. Thor & Sif & Don & Jane. Sounds like a crazy fourway. Threeway. A

Grendel: Behold the Devil #5: I love Matt Wagner’s artwork: clear lines, expressive faces, obvious attitudes, athletic violence. Yum! And while this chapter could have had more story to it, seeing Grendel fight zombies is worth he cover price. B

Grendel: Behold the Devil #4: Oh, Matt! After such a strong start, we’re half-way through the series and there’s no sign of Grendel’s mysterious stalker, just his grousing about it. I find the rest of the story as interesting as I have since issue #1, but the earlier tension is getting tedious. B-

Thor #6: In one fell swoop (heh heh; pun), Thor restores all the Asgardians who have been hiding in mortal bodies since Ragnarok a few years ago. As in all things Marvel, The End of the World isn’t really the end. Ever. The highlight of the issue is the locals’ meeting with the Asgardians, especially the “indoor plumbing” discussion. This is supposed to be the end of the first story arc, but it doesn’t feel like the end. A

Justice League New Frontier Special: Good timing on DC’s part to have a New Frontier Special coincide with the release of the New Frontier DVD. So good one may cynically call it “milking the cash cow”. Nevertheless, the stories therein are enjoyable and give some interesting insights into the political side of the early JLA. A

Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season Eight #12: Has anyone NOT heard about lesbian Buffy, yet? Too late. Now you have. Ironic hillarity follows after Buffy says she wants to keep things on the DL for now. Butt monkey!! A

My last reviews of the 2007! I actually got my stash this week from Comic Town in Columbus, OH. My brother and I took a day trip down so I could scope out the city in anticipation of moving there. And what’s visiting a new town without stopping in at the local geek hutch? A trip I don’t want to take, and I’ll tell you that for free. This week was a mixed bag of the great, the good and the “I paid how much for this?”.

Wonder Woman #15: Gail Simone continues her making the Amazon Princess great by deepening the Amazonian culture, history (herstory?) and philosophy (“Punishment for the adult; empathy for the child.”). Simone writes WW like she’s been doing it for ages. Just one question: if WW can’t penetrate the barrier around Paradise Island, how did Captain Nazi?  A

Wrath of the Titans #1: Interesting follow up to Clash of the Titans, but I was uncertain as to why all the gods had to look different from the movie. And why no one really addresses Danae’s blindness. B

Blue Beetle #21: Brian Andersen sent me an email about this issue saying “This will be us one day!!” Written by an unknown, Justin Peniston, this is a good stand-alone story that gives hope to us indy comic nerds that we can break into the Big Time one day. A

Thor #5: A break in the search-and-transform pattern of the past few issues that sets up future plot lines (maybe a few too many). The cover is… misleading, but I like how it ends up. A

Angel: After the Fall #1: I loved Season Five of Angel – the writing was smart, the drama high and the character development was unreal in its placing. With Season Eight of Buffy kicking ass all over the world, I figured that the comic book “next season” of Angel would fare as well. Yeah, not so much. C+

Angel: After the Fall #2: I got issues 1 and 2 at the same time, not knowing what they would be like, but anticipating the best. Maybe because Angel was such a strong ensemble show and the native situational humor and drama between the characters worked so well, that splitting them apart here … splits them apart. and why, oh why, is Illyria with Spike? C

Grendel: Behold the Devil #2: I’m hoping that the last page does not reveal who has been stalking the Devil. I never would have attributed that kind of… grace and agility to him. Still, the blood flows, and the story moves on. B+


HAPPY NEW YEAR, ALL!!!!!

Wonder Woman #14: She’s BACK! “Pah!” (as my students would say. Well, “say”.) Gail Simone has bought us a Wonder Woman who is not an idiot, who is not confused and who is not going to shy away from her Amazonian heritage. She’s strong, sly and .. ok, her lasso twists at weird angles, but that’s about my only criticism. An old friend is retconned into continuity, and an older enemy makes himself known. All good stuff! A+

Thor #4: I never read Thor back in the days before he died, but now that he’s back and under J. Michael Straczynski’s care, I’m thrilled to get his book every month. Having reconstituted Asgard and soundly kicked Iron Man’s ass, Thor continues to re-people his kingdom by bringing home The Warriors Three (this is hardly a spoiler; they’re on the cover)! I liked the story itself, but I didn’t like the Kansas-Africa-Kansas commute (too jarring). A