Barbecued Banes
Secret Six #14
A demon called Grendel is loose on Smyth’s prison/slave island, half of the team is working to help the imprisoned Amazons escape, and the other half is working to stop the rest of the team. Ragdoll goes after Smyth, while one of his henchmen reveals herself as a renegade Amazon who has absorbed the properties of the purple healing ray. In a pretty fantastically badass moment, Scandal Savage, in an attempt to take on Grendel solo, injects herself with Bane’s venom drug. And the Amazons are prepared to kill themselves rather than face any further imprisonment. All that plus Wonder Woman finally wakes up and kicks some butt. Whew!
Verdict: Thumbs up. Another very good issue. Awesome Aussie artist Nicola Scott’s beautiful artwork is combined with Gail Simone’s outstanding action-packed but still character-driven storytelling. Go get it, guys — a comic this good means DC’s gonna come gunning for it eventually, so don’t miss out.
Booster Gold #25
In a cool-down issue from the last Titans-Trigon time-traveling storyline, Booster wants some time off, but Rip Hunter insists that he return to the Batcave to recover his photos from the new Batman. Unfortunately, Booster didn’t expect to run into the new assassin-trained Robin. Meanwhile, Rip and Skeets head out to interrogate Dr. T.O. Morrow and run into the Black Beetle, now transformed into the even more powerful Red Beetle. And in our second feature, Jaime Reyes, the Blue Beetle, has his own run-in with the Black Beetle. Jaime’s armor has him stoked into a killing rage — can he resist murdering the time-traveling madman, discover his true identity, and save his friends and family at the same time?
Verdict: Thumbs up. This series has its ups and downs, but this issue was all good. Rip and Skeets uncover some mysteries, and Booster has some great character moments with Batman and Robin. The Blue Beetle backup feature is also fun — great emphasis on Jaime’s awesome supporting cast, and another nice little crop of mysteries. When they can keep the good stuff going, this is an awesome series — let’s hope they can keep the good stuff coming on a more consistent basis.