Comic Mini-Reviews Week of January 11th, 2012

An emergency trip to Louisville delayed my reviews a bit, but here they are in all their glory. I have decided to no longer rate comics using the “interest-o-meter” but I have not chosen a replacement yet. For now, you will have to read the reviews to see what I thought of each book! (It's so much extra work, I know!)

Amazing Spider-man #677 – Well, this is easily the book with the highest issue number I have reviewed so far. Sorry, Spider-fans, I'm not picking up any webslinger books. Rather, issue #677 is the first part of a Daredevil/Spider-man crossover and I am buying Daredevil. So in order to not be completely lost reading Daredevil #8, I had to buy #677...crazy how that works, huh? Written by Mark Waid and illustrated by Emma Rios, ASM #677 was a solid piece of work. As is normally the case in crossovers, it was encumbered by more continuity than I am used to in Waid's Daredevil, but, for the most part, it was easy to follow. Waid's talent for capturing a character's essence and voice is on display as he handles perfect characterizations for both Peter Parker and Matt Murdoch. Art-wise, Rios is no Marco Rivera but she has a fluidity that works well for the rubbery Spider-man.

Batgirl #5 – I can't seem to put my finger on this book's problem. After a less than solid first arc, issue number five falls somewhere between lackluster and solid. The strange thing is that Simone doesn't seem to have deviated from the formulas that made her a fan favorite on other books—specifically, Secret Six. She's taken a beloved character, paired it with a solid voice and pitted it against two villains that are patently Simone-esque (read as: weird/creepy). Yet, five issues in, something just isn't working. I have a sneaking suspicion that the disconnect comes somewhere between Simone and artists Ardian Syaf. I am not exactly sure who is at fault but some of the sequences in issue five fall flat. A panel that I am sure was originally meant to be a revelation into the nature of the new villain, Gretel, seems flubbed. Or, it could be intentional to maintain a secret. Regardless, if a veteran comic reader like me had trouble discerning, I am sure that the coveted new readers would be similarly flummoxed. Batgirl continues to underperformed. If the title character proves to be more interesting as a member Bird of Prey, it will only exaggerate the lackluster nature of this book.

Batman and Robin #5 – In last week's FIGcast I claimed that I would read an ongoing comic about people doing nothing but drinking tea if Pat Gleason drew it. I still stand by that statement. Pre-B&R, he was already one of my favorite comic illustrators, but these first five issues have been INSANELY well drawn. For all the praise I have heaped on Gleason, I often forget to mention that Tomasi is pumping out some of the best plotting I have ever read. He has taken the Bruce Wayne/Damian Wayne dynamic and expanded it to a moral minefield filled with father/son crises and disturbing familial troubles. Can Bruce save Damian from his psychologically troubling upbringing? Will Damien be one of Bruce's greatest triumphs or failures?

Batwoman #5 – The most beautiful book in the New 52 continues to be one of the most solidly written. After the resolution (for now) of the Weeping Woman storyline, the book takes a turn as two different organizations vie for Batwoman's allegiance. Kate Kane is given the choice to join Batman Incorporated or work for the Department of Extranormal Operations. A recent rereading of Batwoman: Elegy reminded me of a key difference between it and the current run. The New 52 series is quite a bit less wordy than Greg Rucka's earlier run, but this makes sense considering an artist is the main creative mind behind the book. Also, while Elegy focused on one of Rucka's earlier creations The Religion of Crime, Batwoman is focusing on one of JH William III's, Cameron Chase and the D.E.O. Personally, I love Ms. Chase and the D.E.O. (Director Bones!) so Batwoman is still in my top five favorites of the New 52.

Demon Knights #5 – A while back, I complained that Demon Knights was the absolute epitome of decompressed storytelling in comic books. Five issues in and the medieval superhero team is still stuck defending a tiny, besieged town. It's not poorly written and, even though the siege is taking forever, plenty of interesting stuff is going on. Yet, with each passing issue, I can't help but think “This is going to make one heck of a collected edition.” I have nothing against trades or trade-waiting (in fact, I am a serial trade-waiter), I am just impatient for real resolution. For example, two issues in a row have ended with “shocking” acts by members of the team that seem like betrayals. Even if one of these actions turns out to be real, the “Benedict Arnold Barrel” is a pretty shallow one and shouldn't be gone to with such frequency. I enjoy Demon Knights, I really do, but I am really, really ready for a second storyline.

O.M.A.C. #5/Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #5 – The crossovers have finally begun! I haven't been following O.M.A.C. but I didn't want to miss out on half of the monster slamming action! It turns out that I could have saved the $2.99. Don't get me wrong, the issues weren't bad, they were just the same story—almost literally. The only difference lies in the perspective. The two issues tell the same events from the view point of the title characters. The concept is clever but it doesn't work out very well. The story ends abruptly without any real resolution. In the end, the crossover feels like half a story told twice. It's a fine little smackdown between DC's two current brawlers, but it left me wanting more. I can't believe I'm saying this but: For a book that was mostly action, it could have used about 20 more pages of monster-on-monster violence.

Green Lantern #5 – Honestly, I was pretty shocked that the status quo was not reestablished by the end of Green Lantern's first storyline. Instead, after Hal helps free Korugar, he is returned to Earth sans-ring power while Sinestro's membership in the Corps seems firmly entrenched. Personally, I like Sinestro as a (somewhat morally ambiguous) good guy. Somehow Geoff Johns is able to make him a complete butthole and sympathetic at the same time. Well, perhaps not completely sympathetic but redeemable. The problem, of course, is that Green Lantern only has so many worthy villains and I doubt it will be very long before Sinestro returns to his role as professional-yellow-themed-menace. Doug Manhke's art is the real star once again—deftly jumping from humans to humanoid aliens to scifi craziness without breaking a sweat.

The Ray #2 – Just because the 1990s version of the Ray happened to be one of my favorite under-utilized DC characters doesn't mean that I can't get behind a re-imagining. In fact, I would argue that the Ray is the perfect candidate for a revamp: a low b-list/high c-list character that has been around for a long time without ever being in any really famous stories. He's the kind of character that could be a blank slate for a creative team to tinker with. The new Ray is a light-based, Korean American teenage superhero from San Diego that is zapped by some sort of ray. You know...standard superhero stuff. The first two issues, written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray and drawn by Jamal Igle, have been solid, if traditional, superhero fare.

The Shade #4 – Maybe my expectations were low, but The Shade has been surprisingly solid. James Robinson's output since returning from Hollywood has mostly been somewhere between so-so and bad. Yet, something about writing the Shade seems to revitalize him. Cully Hamner's art in the first three issues was solid, but issue four, drawn by industry powerhouses Darwyn Cooke and J. Bone, was absolutely gorgeous. One a side note, I know that I am probably the only one that finds this interesting, but cameos by Golden Age mystery men, Vigilante and Madame Fatale, seem to imply that in the new continuity there is still some semblance of a superheroic tradition in DC's past.

Wolverine and the X-men #4 – I find it difficult to believe that Wolverine and the X-men is written by the same guy that writes Scalped. It's just so...happy! Four issues in, the series is still successfully walking the line between relaunch and continuation. I know next to nothing about MARVEL history and yet, for the most part, I have no difficulty knowing what is going on. The most recent issue flirts momentarily with new reader continuity confusion as a couple of characters that, I am sure are recognizable to long time readers, are introduced into the book. Yet, in the end, these additions just add to the developing story of the Jean Grey School for Mutants. This book is still one of my favorite books to pick up whenever the hell it happens to come out. (Yes, that is a dig at MARVEL's haphazard release dates, shifting schedules and craptastic website...but that is a discussion for another time.)