RASL #2

Hrm, I get the feeling this is a story that’ll be a lot better when it’s collected into a single volume, rather than doled out one at a time in the single issues. Rasl (that’s apparently our dimension-hopping protagonist’s name) spends some time with his hoochie-mama, talking about alternate-universe Picassos, maze mandalas, and, well, hoochie. But someone is trying to track Rasl down, and they don’t care who gets hurt.

Verdict: I ain’t gonna give it a hard thumbs down, because I am enjoying Jeff Smith’s art a lot, but this series is just not interesting to me.

The Brave and the Bold #14

Boston Brand, better known as the superhero ghost Deadman, enlists Green Arrow in a fight against the Ghost Killers of Nanda Parbat, a band of spectral assassins created by Siva Anuttara, a death-worshipping monster who’s actually managed to capture Rama Kushna, the powerful god-spirit who runs Nanda Parbat and helped train Deadman. The big problem is that Green Arrow doesn’t have any ghost arrows, so all he and Deadman can do is run.

Verdict: Honestly, thumbs down. The team-up woulda been interesting if only there was someone Ollie could fight, and I also felt like GA acted out-of-character at the end.

Tangent: Superman’s Reign #4

Batman, Hal Jordan, Black Lightning, and Black Canary manage to make their way to the Tangent universe to join Flash and a bunch of Tangent heroes. John Stewart has been captured by Tangent’s version of Superman, who’s taken over the world. And it turns out that the Atom the heroes previously liberated from Superman isn’t the real Atom at all, but a secret operative.

Verdict: Thumbs down. It’s just going on too darn long, and it’s not giving me nearly enough entertainment. I’m dropping this one.

RASL #1

Jeff Smith is a guy who’s best known for writing the very popular “Bone” series for over a decade. It was a very kid-friendly series, with lots of funny characters and jokes. It always looked like a cross between “Pogo,” Carl Barks’ Disney comics, and “Lil’ Abner.” He recently did “Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil” for DC, and it was still a pretty kid-friendly comic. His new series is called “RASL,” and it doesn’t look like it’s gonna be too kid-friendly at all.

The comic follows a so-far unnamed protagonist who is a dimension-hopping art thief. He breaks into a seventh-floor apartment from the outside, steals a painting, gets chased by the cops, drinks some liquor, and gets chased by a sinister camel-faced gunman. Who is he, how does he travel between dimensions, who’s pursuing him, and how can he survive? No answers yet.

Verdict: Thumbs up. It’s a weird, violent story, and so far, it’s more than interesting enough to make sure I come back for more.

Powers #28

Recap: Someone’s giving people a virus that gives them superpowers, and a serial killer — possibly the same person giving out the powers virus — is targeting blonde teenaged girls around the city. Former detective Deena Pilgrim is a suspect because she has the powers virus. Former techno superhero Triphammer has a daughter who’s been murdered by the killer. The cops and Detective Christian Walker — himself a secret superhero — are stymied. And Walker’s friend Calista, the new Retro Girl, has a plan to fix everything.

Calista’s plan is set herself out as bait for the killer — she’s a young blonde teen, and if she doesn’t let on that she has powers, she has a chance of taking the killer down before he knows he’s in trouble. Walker’s opposed to the idea, but Calista insists. Meanwhile, Deena’s been ambushed by a crime lord and his goons who think they’re gonna make out good by taking her down. She’s badly outnumbered, but she still manages to wipe everyone out. And how does the stakeout with Calista go? As you’d probably expect, not at all well.

Verdict: Thumbs up. This is the most convoluted and confusing and suspenseful mystery I’ve seen from the “Powers” comics in quite a while. A surprisingly small amount of really adult content, though I’m sure the gratuitous nudity and cussin’ will be back in force next issue.