Comic Mini-Reviews Week of May 9th, 2012

This week: Wolverine is torn between two groups, Night of Owls slows down Batman and Robin, and Captain America's old girlfriend is a secret agent.

Batgirl #9 – Thanks to Night of the Owls, Scott Snyder's obsession with history has seeped into other Bat-books. No where is this more evident than Gail Simone and Ardian Syaf's Batgirl #9. Using a barely remembered moment from World War II as a frame-story, Simone builds an elaborate background for the female Talon that is sent to assassinate Commissioner Gordon. Barbara Gordon is only able to defeat the Talon thanks to sheer luck—a recurring theme in the New 52 Batgirl. For an event tie-in, it's not a bad issue. The historical moment that Batgirl's enemy is stolen from is a nice Simone-esque touch. Syaf's art is very close to being solid but I still think his visual storytelling is not quite up to par.

Batman #9 – Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's New 52 Batman relaunch is becoming an increasingly enigmatic work. On the one hand, it's a book that seems well written and well illustrated. On the other hand, it seems to be REALLY SLOW. I am not implying that every story needs to be told at a breakneck pace, but Batman has lacked enough memorable moments to make it interesting. Aside from one stellar issue, the series has kind of dawdled from one part to the next. Issue nine is a perfect example of all of this. A few interesting events happen, but the story doesn't really move forward. In fact, the outcome of the entire issue is one of those classic “I'm now a determined and angry Batman” moments we've already seen in at least one issue.

Batman and Robin #9 – The problem with event tie-ins is that, 99% of the time, books that have a nice momentum going get sidetracked. We'll see next month if Batman and Robin returns to its initial solidness. For now, we're left with a crossover book that was lackluster. Since Batman is currently under siege in the Batcave, this issue follows Robin's attempts to protect one of the murderous Talon's assassination targets. Issue nine is not terrible, but it lacks the depth that the series has had since the relaunch.

Captain America #11 – After tackling a story that seems to have been inspired by classic comic book style writing, Ed Brubaker (with art by Patch Zircher and Paul Mounts) brings Steve Rogers back to the world of super-espionage. The focus switches from Cap's relationship with Sharon Carter to his working relationship with former villain, current agent Diamondback and Dum Dum Dugan. As S.H.I.E.L.D. searches for a mole, Rogers runs into a new version of the villain killing Scourge. It was a good, not great, issue with some solid character moments between Dum Dum and Diamondback. This series has yet to return to the pinnacle it reached during the first arc, but it remains enjoyable.

Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #9 – Frankenstein unofficially crosses over with Animal Man in Jeff Lemire's final issue on on the book. Picking up a thread from earlier in the Lemire-penned Animal Man series, a S.H.A.D.E. investigation leads to Frankenstein coming into conflict with one of the Hunters Three. The nice thing about a book like this is that it rarely has a problem fulfilling its promise of monster-on-monster violence. It was neat to see Lemire pick up on some of the threads that were left open along the way in Animal Man. As usual, Alberto Ponticelli's art fits the grimy nature of the book perfectly.

Green Lantern #9 – Geoff Johns and Doug Mahnke's Green Lantern series has not been great since the relaunch. Thanks to Mahnke's art, it has been one of the best looking books but from a story perspective Geoff Johns seems to have lost a little of his edge. I point this out for a reason. Issue nine has a little inkling of getting back on track. We'll see where the story takes Hal Jordan but, for now, the cliffhanger ending uses the Indigo Tribe and their origins perfectly.

Wolverine and the X-men #10 – Unlike Batgirl and Batman and Robin, Jason Aaron and Chris Bachalo's Wolverine and the X-men's AvX tie-in was actually...good. The greater part of the issue deals with the stresses put on individuals when two sides vie for their allegiance. As Wolverine is torn between the Avengers and the X-men, Aaron shows the reader the tension of division. Issue ten was a well written and conceived issue with solid art from Bachalo.