Demon Knights #3 – I really like the way this comic is put together. I especially liked how it slowed down the pace in this issue to provide for a lot of character development. I was surprised by seeing Xanadu get pretty messed up. I assume it doesn’t stick.
The ending in particular really hit me. I typically hate seeing brutality against children, but this issue set it up so well, I was too busy being surprised to be appalled. The bad guys in this one are real assholes!
Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #4 – Bendis really blew me away with this one. I thought the way he had Miles experience the whole “Great power/great responsibility” argument was very clever, with Miles feeling responsible for Peter Parker’s death because of Mile’s refusing to become a hero. In Miles’ case, it wasn’t greed that drove his actions, it was fear. This comic continues to be one of my favorites. It would have to be, paying 4 bucks for a 22 page comic is always a sore point for me.
Star Trek/Legion of Superheroes #2 – I really love how this book has created a hybrid universe from Legion and Star Trek races. The Klingon and Khunds having epic wars in particular was really cool. I think that the two teams should probably have met up before the end of the second issue, it felt like that was dragged out a little too long, but the setup and showing up how this world works was really well done.
I also like that the Star Trek sections in particular have a lot of humor in them. This has always been a strong suit of Star Trek to me, and often it seems like a lot of writers leave that part out. It’s one of the reasons that Peter David is my favorite Star Trek writers.
Huntress #2 – For an ongoing series, this issue would have been fine, but as part of a limited series, it felt a little like filler. Not really sure it moved the story much further alone, and a few of the scenes felt like cut and pastes from the first issue. This wasn’t a bad comic really, just wasn’t much to it.
Batman: Arkham Unhinged #4 – Man, this series makes me feel like I’m suffering from Stockholm Syndrome. Why do I keep coming back and spending another dollar? It really just has not been all that satisfying, but every week DC posts another issue, and I snap it right up. I would probably be better off just taking the dollar and setting it on fire.
Suicide Squad #2 – This issue has some odd art. For the most part, I loved this issue, but the art was very distracting. I have heard that the art gets much better in the third issue, and that’s usually not a make or break with me anyway.
I do think that Suicide Squad has been pretty impressive so far. It definitely doesn’t pull any punches, but also seems to have a lot of meat to it, not just relying on shock value (though there has been a lot of that too).
Resurrection Man #2 – There felt like a strange gap between everything that happened in the first issue and the change in tone in the second issue. I liked both issues a lot, but they almost feel like two entirely different comic series. I especially loved seeing Mitch trying to piece together his life before becoming Resurrection Man. And for those who love trumpeting DC as anti-female, the Body Doubles definitely went a long way towards making that argument in the beginning of this issue.
Grifter #2 – Like a lot of the Relaunch books, I thought this second issue was much better than the first issue. I really felt like I was getting a much better handle on everything that was going on. I especially liked seeing Cole and his brother facing off.
I also love how the Daemonites are portrayed in this book. I can definitely see why everyone thinks Cole is just crazy. I actually would love to see Grifter interact with some of the other comics.
Frankenstein, Agent of Shade #2 – I loved how this issue focused on Nina and gave us her story while still giving us a lot of movement on the main story. I really hope that Frankenstein continues to do this throughout the series. Too many of the Relaunch books are leaving the reader to play catch up on all these characters, and Frankenstein went a long way to solving that problem here.
Batwoman #2 – I actually have been enjoying this series quite a bit, but I find the stark white coloring they use on Kaye to be very distracting. It’s kind of cool to make the character stand out all the time, but the long red mane does that too. I can’t help but think the DEA shouldn’t have any trouble finding Batwoman. Just look for the whitest white girl you can find, and they can call it a day.
Another personal concern about Batwoman is all the strange page layouts. They are really cool, but they make this book very hard to read on a tablet. I suspect my wife would enjoy this book, but she can’t stand how splash pages and double layouts look on the tablet, so I haven’t even tried to get her into this series.
Green Lantern #2 – Sinestro is such a dick!! I really liked this issue a lot. Especially seeing Sinestro put Hal in his place, but at the same time, seeing Sinestro admit that he needed Hal’s help against the Sinestro Corps. I definitely would have liked to see more about how messed up Hal’s life was on Earth. That all seemed to get resolved a little too quickly, and I hope they get back to that.
I also hope that Sinestro sticks around as a major character for a while. Johns has a great handle on the character, and I love seeing how his story plays out.
The 99 #1 – One of my biggest interests in comics has always been stories set in superhero realities that aren’t really about the villain/hero aspect. Books like Astro City, Common Grounds, Hero Squared come to mind. The 99’s first issue was very much in that vein, telling the story of a young girl who is kidnapped and gains superpowers.
It was a very well written story about how someone can lose hope and how they can regain that hope. I do think that the team leader Dr. Ramzi is a little “too perfect” including the whole idea that he has no darkness at all in him. I have always liked the flawed mentor, but I guess that is just my own cynicism.
