Batman Inc. #12

It’s pretty much fightin’ from beginning to end! Batman vs. the Heretic! Bats vs. Man-Bats! Nightwing and Red Robin learn that the people who kidnapped Jason Todd are actually on their side! But who is their mysterious leader? Nightwing and the Knight vs. the Heretic! Talia vs. the Heretic! Also Batman vs. the Heretic! It’s pretty much everyone beating up on the Heretic for 20+ pages!

Verdict: Thumbs up. Yes, it’s fighting all the way through, but it’s quite excellent fighting. There are still revelations we learn, and mysteries to be solved. And holy cheese, Chris Burnham’s artwork is just crazy-pretty.

The Movement #3

Katharsis tries to take down the police all by herself, and it does not turn out well for her. The rest of the team focus on fighting Rainmaker, and it mostly doesn’t go real well for them either. The cops who’d been “arrested” by the Movement try to get back at their captors, and the rest of the cops make plans to take down everyone else in town. And we may have learned who the serial killer is who’s been plaguing the city.

Verdict: Thumbs up. The action is quite good, and the characterization is improving. Of course, most of the characterization we’re getting are for Katharsis, who is unlikable, and Virtue, who is kinda not real interesting as a person. Mouse and Burden are still cyphers. I’d love to find out more about Tremor and Vengeance Moth — they seem to be the folks who most need some screen time.

The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys #1

See, there’s this guy named Gerard Way, and if y’all read comics, you know he wrote the “Umbrella Academy” series, which is completely awesome. And you probably also know that he was the lead singer of a band called My Chemical Romance, and their last album “Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys,” featured a couple of videos in which the band portrayed the Killjoys, rebels in a day-glo post-apocalyptic future, opposed by mask-wearing soldiers called Draculoids and a corporate assassin called Korse who looked just like Grant Morrison.

So what we’ve got here is Way’s continuation of the storyline from those videos. Years have passed since the Killjoys were murdered by Korse and his Draculoids, and the Girl they tried to protect is on her own, wandering in the desert with her black cat. She runs into some punks in the desert who alternately hinder her and help her. Meanwhile, in the slums of Battery City, a pleasure droid works to buy a new battery for her — sister? Coworker? Lover? Beats me. And Korse has been reactivated so he can capture the Girl and destroy anyone associated with her.

Verdict: Thumbs up. I can’t be said to be all that familiar with the Killjoys’ backstory, but what this comic has generally makes good sense and is fun to read — I was fairly concerned that the opposite would be the case. The script by Way and Shaun Simon is well-done and fun, especially the monologues on the radio from Dr. Death-Defying. And the art by Becky Cloonan is really nice, too.

Batman: Li’l Gotham #3

It’s Valentine’s Day, and the Joker just hates Valentine’s Day. He’s not a fan of love in general, and he really hates it when Harley Quinn gets all lovey-dovey. And then he gets some of Poison Ivy’s secret formulas on him, and suddenly every woman in Gotham City falls in love with him. Is there any hope for the pheromone-plagued madman? In our second story, Damian Wayne teams up with Katana and Alfred to track the snakey thief who’s stolen a valuable jade sword.

Verdict: Thumbs up. Adorable, funny, action-packed, and beautifully painted. Why can’t DC make some more all-ages comics that are this much fun?

Today’s Cool Links:

• Bully has an interesting post on why he wasn’t able to finish the new Superman movie, and on why some depictions of comic and film destruction affects us more strongly than others.
• If anyone needed to be thrown out of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, it’s definitely this freakshow.
• I wish someone in our army was hardcore enough to say this.
• This is a very, very good dog.

Batman Inc. #11

We take a one-month break from the ongoing Leviathan storyline to check in on what’s happening with the Batman Inc. franchise in Japan. Batman Japan and his sidekick Canary are on a date in the virtual reality of Internet 3.0 — since Canary is only six inches tall, they have to date there so they can both be the same size. But they’re called out on an urgent mission — five armored motorcyclists are running wild and killing people in Tokyo, but the heroes are unable to stop them from making their escape. Will they be able to defeat the bikers or their terrifying master, Lady Tiger Fist?

Verdict: Thumbs up. A nice break from the tension and high-stakes of the main storyline. It’s a fun story, some nice art, and a lot of great attitude.

Daredevil #26

Matt Murdock has endured a terrific beating from Ikari, an assassin with all of Daredevil’s sensory abilities — plus he’s able to see! And Ikari has promised to kill Daredevil — not right away, not with any warning, just to give Matt more time to get more and more paranoid. And Daredevil is indeed jumping at shadows both real and imagined as Ikari and his assistants stalk him. Can Matt keep from cracking up? Can he discover who’s behind Ikari and all his recent troubles? Can he keep from being murdered by his stalker?

Verdict: Thumbs up. Great action, great tension, great characterization, great art. The whole thing was a blast to read through, and I can’t wait for the next issue.

The Green Team #1

DC’s new companion comic for the crimefighting 99%-ers series “The Movement” is this story about crimefighting 1%-ers. It’s written by Art Baltazar and Franco, who are of course best known for their brilliant “Tiny Titans” series. So now we get to see how they do writing (but not drawing — Ig Guara handles the art chores) a more non-all-ages, mainstream superhero title.

We first meet up with Prince Mohammed Qahtanii, the son of one of the richest men on the planet. Mohammed wants to prove he’s fit to take over for his father by proving that he can increase the family’s wealth, so he’s traveled to New York City to meet the members of the Green Team — mega-wealthy teen technology fanatic Commodore (yeah, that’s his first name) Murphy, mega-wealthy teen actress Cecilia Sunbeam (and her pet wildcat Bubbles), mega-wealthy teen oil tycoon J.P. Houston, and his sister L.L. Houston. The Green Team runs periodic technology expos where genius inventors show off their newest gizmos and Comm gives them money to develop their tech into something he can use. Unfortunately, Mo tweets a pic of Comm, which alerts his many enemies to his location, and they all get attacked by a masked loon called Riot Act. Comm has a power suit he’s bought, but he really doesn’t know how to use it yet. Is the entire Green Team going to get wiped out in their first issue?

Verdict: Ehh, I dunno yet. It’s not particularly bad. But I’m not sure if there’s a real focus yet. They say money is the best superpower, but if that’s the case, these guys have kinda boring superpowers. Comm has his power suit, Mo has a bodyguard, Cecilia has a pet wildcat, and that’s really about it. There’s a heck of a lot of talking, a heck of a lot of people spending money on fancy inventions, but not a whole lot else. I’m sure we’ll see the characters, plotline, and focus develop some more over the next few issues, but I sure hope it doesn’t take too long to shake out.

Young Avengers #5

The whole team is in deep trouble, under attack by a bunch of shapeshifting New Yorkers being controlled by Mother, an interdimensional parasite who wants to eat all of the Young Avengers. Kid Loki has gotten access to Wiccan’s powers and promptly vanished, leaving Wiccan fearing that the only way to deprive Mother of her powers will be to kill himself. But has Loki really abandoned them? (And is Loki really Loki? I couldn’t really figure that part out.) Do they stand a chance of defeating Mother and her forces?

Verdict: Ehh, it’s alright, I guess. As good as the previous issues were, the conclusion of this initial storyarc ends up falling a bit flat. There’s no solid resolution — Mother is still out there and can reappear if any of the Young Avengers ever go near New York again. Even the humor and action kinda feel stifled.

Batman: Li’l Gotham #2

More completely ridiculous awesomeness from Dustin Nguyen and Derek Fridolfs. Batman and Nightwing spend Christmas rescuing a bunch of kids from Mr. Freeze, who is mostly motivated by a desire to keep the kids young and innocent forever. Can kindness win the day against the morose iceman? And on New Year’s Eve, Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn recruit Catwoman to help them pull some socially relevant crimes, as well as some very socially irrelevant crimes…

Verdict: A very enthusiastic thumbs up. The cutest, cleverest Batman series you ever will see. Even Arkham Asylum looks adorable and cuddly. The stories are perfect for kids and adults alike, and you’ll really enjoy paying attention to all the funny details in the background.

Today’s Cool Links:

• Here’s a fantastic essay about challenging the role of women in history and narrative fiction.
• We should all read more stories by James Tiptree Jr./Alice Sheldon.
• Any time we talk about comics creators who got screwed by the publishers, the first name we think of should be Bill Finger.
• Wrong number? Or the rightest number?
• This kid is ready to play in the big leagues.

Batman Inc. #10

In the wake of Damian’s death, Batman recruits Azrael to join the fight while Talia and Leviathan work to completely shut down Gotham City. The various Robins track down where Jason Todd is being held captive, Kirk Langstrom has a gift for Batman, Talia disciplines the Heretic, and Batman makes a fateful decision.

Verdict: Thumbs up. If anything, the stuff outside of the main storyline are the most interesting. I’m finding myself caring less about Batman vs. Talia and more about the former Squire (now the new Knight), Kirk Langstrom, and the people who kidnapped Jason Todd. That’s not really a bad thing, because these are pretty interesting stories, and I’d love to see how they’re going to play out in the story.

Uncanny Avengers #7

A lot of this story is set in space, focused on Genocide, the son of Apocalypse, who is preparing to petition the Celestials to appoint him the new Apocalypse. But he and his Horsemen are unexpectedly attacked by a couple of characters called the Apocalypse Twins, the children of Archangel and Pestilence. They thrash the Horsemen and use Thor’s old axe, Jarnbjorn, enchanted to be able to pierce a Celestial’s armor, to assassinate the Celestial summoned by Genocide. That means the Celestials are going to come to Earth to take revenge.

And the Avengers still can’t stop arguing among themselves — should they bar Rogue from the group after she accidentally killed Wonder Man’s brother? Can Alex Summers lead the team effectively? Will Wasp’s attempts to market mutant chic to the young help turn things around?

Verdict: Ehh, it’s alright, but I just can’t pronounce myself thrilled with this. Too much emphasis on Genocide and the Apocalypse Twins, who I’d never heard of before. And I thought the bit with Wasp putting the moves on Alex solely because he was the team’s leader was creepy and out-of-character. Still, the bit with the Celestial assassination is a cool, attention-grabbing bit.

Today’s Cool Links:

• AOL has shut down Comics Alliance. No, this is not good — I didn’t always agree with everything they covered, but they did excellent comics journalism that was fun, geek-embracing, and not condescending — but let’s remember some very important points. First, the very, very smart writers from Comics Alliance are probably going to get snapped up by other sites pretty quickly. And second, this says more about the financial health of AOL (probably very, very poor) and not very much at all about the success of Comics Alliance (which was very, very popular).
• Why do female supervillains trend toward the skanky side of town?
• Greg Rucka would prefer that “Man of Steel” get a PG rating.
• Looks like the teddy bear needs an operation!

Batman: Li’l Gotham #1

Hey, a cute little all-ages series by Dustin Nguyen and Derek Fridolfs. It’s got Nguyen’s adorable watercolors and some amazingly cute stories featuring our favorite members of the Bat-family.

Our first tale is set at Halloween and focuses on Batman and Damian — yay, Damian’s still alive in this one! Damian doesn’t really understand Halloween — all the kids are dressed as monsters and supervillains, and his methods for getting candy are not polite or socially acceptable. And when the Dynamic Duo stumble onto some supervillains enjoying a holiday meal, the stage is set for an epic confrontation.

The second story happens at Thanksgiving, when the Penguin decides to rescue all the Thanksgiving turkeys in Gotham City. This turns out about as well as you’d expect, and the entire Bat-family gets to enjoy a holiday meal together.

Verdict: Thumbs up. This is absolutely glorious. And it features Babs Gordon as Oracle, as well as Cassandra Cain. So yes, seriously, you need to go get it because this is the kind of happy-making comics the industry should care more about making.

Uncanny Avengers #6

This entire issue takes place a thousand years ago, with a younger, more brash Thor, armed with a battleaxe called Jarnbjorn, instead of the more familiar Mjolnir. He is unexpectedly attacked by Apocalypse — and En Sabah Nur wipes the floor with him. Thor flees back to Asgard, asking Odin for assistance, but he refuses, saying that destroying Apocalypse would cause greater troubles in the future. Loki offers Thor an enchantment that will allow his axe to pierce Apocalypse’s invulnerable armor, and Thor heads back for a rematch — while Apocalypse and his Horsemen are attempting to kill Wolverine’s distant ancestor, Folkbern Logan. But is someone else manipulating events behind the scenes?

Verdict: Thumbs up. Very nice action, and a nice alternate take on Thor (I haven’t been reading the recent comics where this version of the Odinson hangs out).

Sledgehammer 44 #2

While the American soldiers are trying to wheel the guy in the powered armor to safety, they’ve gotten ambushed by a bunch of Nazi goons. They manage to take ’em out, but one of the soldiers gets a bullet in the chest for his trouble. Now lugging an injured squadmate along with the armor, the soldiers barely make it to safety in a deserted barn — but they’re still outnumbered and outgunned by a bunch of villains who’ll use the armor to develop technology to destroy the world? How can the good guys come out on top?

Verdict: Thumbs up. It was a very short story, but a pretty good one anyway. Excellent drama and dialogue and art — all around, a fun read.

FF #5

Our focus in this issue is on Medusa, who appears to be harboring a few secrets. She enrolls her possibly-crazy son Ahura in the Future Foundation, makes Crystal’s daughter quite nervous, and is visiting some unwholesome old friends. Meanwhile, Darla Deering is trying to figure out a good helmet to wear with her Miss Thing suit, the pressure is getting to Scott Lang, and the elderly future Johnny Storm goes crazy and tries to burn New York City down.

Verdict: Thumbs up. Excellent action, intrigue, and, of course, art. Fun dialogue. Some great funny bits, particularly Darla trying on helmets. In fact, I suspect the whole issue is worth buying just for this panel:

I’m a complete sucker for the Marx Brothers.

Batman Inc. #9

In the immediate aftermath of Robin’s death, the Bat-family battles Damian’s clone and the forces of Leviathan. Bruce Wayne kicks Alfred out of the mansion for letting Damian leave the Batcave. The Squire takes over as the new Knight. Jason Todd is being held prisoner by Talia. Gotham City knuckles under to Leviathan and bans Batman from the city. And Bat-Cow says “Moo.”

Verdict: Thumbs up. Listen, it was just a good issue, a strong obit for Damian (maybe not as good as the silent issue of “Batman” from a couple weeks ago, but good nevertheless), excellent action, and lots of cool moments.

Uncanny Avengers #5

Wonder Man and the Wasp join the team as public relations experts, while Wolverine travels to Japan to recruit disillusioned ex-hero Sunfire. But the team is already fraying at the edges — many members are unhappy with Havok leading them, the mutants and Avengers don’t play together all that well, and a press conference goes from bad to worse when the Grim Reaper, Wonder Man’s brother, attacks the group.

Verdict: Thumbs up. Good all-around storytelling, good characterization, sweet art by Olivier Coipel. Love the way the personalities are clashing and the constant rise in the tension.

Today’s Cool Links:

• Don’t forget: this Saturday, March 30, is TableTop Day. Go forth and play games, people. Board games, card games, roleplaying games, you name it.
• Japanese teenagers hitting each other with hadoukens is the best thing ever.
• I remember some of these old gaming magazines. It’s good to see they’re not entirely lost and forgotten…
• How Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and Lawrence Kasdan brainstormed “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”
• These games are so cool, it makes me wish I had a TV again.
• John Cole says a lot of smart things about how we think of civil rights that we should all spend more time pondering.

Batman and Robin #18

Robin is dead, and the first of the post-death Batman comics is an entirely wordless story focusing on Bruce Wayne and Alfred Pennyworth mourning Damian Wayne. There are no grand events depicted here — brief moments and small items that remind Batman of his son, ranging from an unfinished portrait to a sketchbook. Batman goes on patrol in Gotham, constantly expecting to see his son patrolling with him, constantly disappointed to see that he isn’t. Will the Dark Knight let rage consume him? Or will pure sorrow do the job?

Verdict: Thumbs up. It’s a beautiful story. Ain’t much more to say about it. It’s a beautiful story.

Batman #18

Scott Snyder gets his chance to do a little more mourning. Much of this story focuses on Harper Row, a Batman fangirl who’s been spotlighted a few times. She and her brother Cullen are still living on their own, their scumbag father locked up in Blackgate Prison. Harper keeps fairly close ties on Batman and has noticed that he’s been running himself harder than usual the last few nights. Concerned that he’s going to get worn out and killed by someone, she starts going out to try to help him. She saves him from a dog trainer who’s dosing his attack dogs with Venom, but she gets rewarded with a furious lecture and a broken nose from the Dark Knight. She ends up going to see Bruce Wayne, because she knows he helps fund some of Batman’s activities, to request his aid to help the Caped Crusader. What’s her plan? And will either Bruce Wayne or Batman help her?

Verdict: Thumbs up. Harper Row is a really interesting character, and I do enjoy any chance we get to spend more time with her. The smart money is that she’ll eventually become the new Robin, or at least another member of the Bat-family, so she’s worth watching out for. My lone criticism here is that, aside from the cover, there isn’t actually anything here about Robin. Yes, Batman is clearly mourning him, but well, it’s not much of a requiem when the kid isn’t even mentioned…

Today’s Cool Links:

• Here’s a Kickstarter project for a printed collection of “Worsted for Wear,” a webcomic about fabric arts and crafts by former Lubbock artists Rachael and Josh Anderson. They’ve already hit their goal, but you can still pitch in to get some of the awesome yarn-related loot.
• Speaking of Kickstarters, here’s a project from a friend of mine. It’s perfect for anyone who loves books. She needs less than $150 to get funded, so go pitch some money her way, okay?
• Having some technology troubles? Let Star Trek be your helpline.
• Some obsolete words are just too awesome to be believed.

Batman Inc. #8

Yeah, it’s the worst-kept spoiler ever.

So it’s the big final battle against Leviathan, and the heroes are on the ropes. Batman’s trapped in a safe at the bottom of a swimming pool. Nightwing and Commissioner Gordon are being mobbed by brainwashed children. Red Robin is about to get ambushed. And Damian needs to save the day, against insurmountable odds. But when Damian’s clone — force-grown to adulthood and gifted with enhanced strength — shows up to the fight, things aren’t going to go well.

Verdict: For the most part, a thumbs up. Lots of action — pretty good action, too. Loved the interplay with Damian and Dick Grayson. They really were the best team, weren’t they?

However, I do thumbs it down for killing Damian, even if it’s just a temporary death. He’s an absolutely grand character, and completely unique within the Bat-family. In particular, I’m disappointed that Damian didn’t get more of a swan song — oh, sure, he was basically the star of all of the last few issues, but most of that was devoted to general ass-whuppery, and I think a character this great at least deserved a decent farewell scene with his dad. But I guess this way, we get an even more angsty unpleasant Batman back, which will be just like it was before. Is that what we really want?

Not even sure it matters. Like they’ll leave Damian dead for long? Heck, no. He’s too great a character, and DC can’t resist bringing characters back, except for the ones they hate, I guess (Wally, Cassandra, Stephanie, Donna, Lian, the Justice Society, etc.).

Uncanny Avengers #4

Pretty much a lot more hitting and punching. Thor has been mind-controlled by the Red Skull, who’s stolen Charles Xavier’s brain, and the Scarlet Witch has to take him out of the fight. The Skull works hard trying to mind-control Captain America, too. And everything eventually ends up okay, or basically kinda-sorta okay.

Verdict: Thumbs mostly down. The action was fine. The art was really nice. And it was all just basically people hitting each other a lot. And since reading this, I can’t stop seeing this as a bunch of honkeys fighting a bunch of Nazis. The next few issues of this better be really good, or I’ll have to dump it.

Today’s Cool Links:

• The folks running Zeus Comics in Dallas are working to make comics better.
• The gaming industry’s weirdly obsessive hatred of female characters and female gamers is causing them to make outright bad video games.
• This would be the coolest comic book ever.
• The New York Yankees have admitted what everyone else already knew.
• This is the only worthwhile Harlem Shake video you’re going to see.

This is gonna be a rough week for comics blogging over here — I got only one comic in the pull-list on Wednesday.

Batman Inc. #7

Batman’s been captured by Leviathan, and the rest of Batman Inc. is in disarray. The Knight is dead. Damian realizes that Talia’s lead henchman is actually his own clone, artificially aged into adulthood and augmented with extra powers. The Hood betrays everyone. Talia tries to blow up Red Robin. Leviathan’s mind-controlled allies, including Gotham City’s children, flock to her crusade. And Batman is stuck in an inescapable deathtrap. Only Damian can save the day — but he’s been ordered to stay in the Batcave. It’s not a good time to be on the side of justice in Gotham…

Verdict: Thumbs up. Outstanding work. Great action, fantastic characterization, wonderful tension, and fun, expressive art. Everyone gets some time in the spotlight, and everyone actually ends up being likeable — including Jason Todd, which I was pretty sure was a complete impossibility. And in among all the betrayals and battles and explosions, we still get some time for great quiet moments, including Damian feeding a cat and Alfred demonstrating why he’s the Bat-family’s best parent. If I’ve got a complaint, it’s that we’ve officially lost the Knight, who was an outstanding, fun, positive character. The Squire is still around, and I hope Morrison has some great moments for her coming up. This might be a good time to go track down the “Knight and Squire” series from a couple years back.

Today’s Cool Links:

• Here’s “Paperman,” one of the animated short films that’s been nominated for an Oscar this year. Go watch — you’ll love it.
• I’ve been reading these issues of “Wonder Woman” and never even realized that one of the characters was based on the late rocker/outside Wesley Willis.
• I always suspected that playing “City of Heroes” (the best danged superhero MMO ever) was making me more like a real superhero. Now there’s scientific evidence supporting the idea…
• Do you borrow fashion, expressions, or habits from your favorite fictional characters?
• The Oatmeal sells out on behalf of the most awesome hotel in Colorado.
• Barnes & Noble wants to close a third of its stores over the next decade? Let’s be honest: B&N is probably going to be closing all their stores in a lot less time than that.