Thursday, April 26, 2007

This Week's Haul: Amazons Go 300 on Your Ass!

First of all, an announcement: I have officially removed Superman/Batman from my pull list. Think about that. Me. I will no longer be buying a comic called Superman/Batman. That is so wrong I don't even know where to start. I've been buying it since the beginning. 34 issues of mediocrity. PLEASE fix this series, DC. I know I am not the only one dropping it. (One shots, one shots, one shots, one shots...)

And now on to this week's comics, which, sadly, were mostly a little...meh.

Catwoman #66

I'm always happy when there's a new Catwoman book, but this one was kinda dull. It's a bridge issue, ending the last story line and starting a new one. It mostly centered around a ridiculous new villain named Blitzkrieg, who, admittedly, was supposed to be ridiculous. It was pretty satisfying seeing that jerk-off cop get his head chopped off, though. And I am looking forward to more Hammer and Sickle. And Calculator.

Wonder Woman #8
Team Dodson was back on the art, so the book was looking good. The issue set up Amazons Attack, so it was more interesting than usual. I haven't been hating on this series as much as most people, but I am confused about how it fits into the larger DCU. Like...I don't understand how this Wonder Woman can be the same Wonder Woman who is in the JLA. That doesn't really make sense. The way I see it, WW shouldn't be a member of the JLA...yet. It makes sense that she would be doing some soul-searching and taking a break from being a part of a team. I mean, it's nice that the other heroes got over themselves and let her into the league, but I wouldn't have minded her saying no.

Getting back to WW #8, like I said, it's more interesting than the past few issues have been because it ties into Amazons Attack. For one thing, we got to see WW kick some serious ass:

And dig a tunnel!! Rad!

And we saw some kinda forced sexual tension between our girl and Nemesis. I mean, it's Wonder Woman. This guy is clearly not awesome enough for her:

I have a hard time believing that anyone who was molded from clay would have a birthmark. Maybe an artist's signature...

More sexual tension:

Hockey joke! I always appreciate that. It's clear that Nemesis does not follow hockey because...well, the Capitals are not winning the Stanley Cup anytime soon. And if they did, no one would care.

But I digress.

Let's see what happens when those Amazons attack!

Amazons Attack #1

Oh man. These ladies are HARDCORE. It starts with some Amazon soldiers randomly killing a father and son:

Daaaaaaamn.

Is it wrong that I kinda enjoy watching these women destroy Washington? I mean, in a fictional sense. Obviously I don't want a bunch of Amazons to really fly in on winged horses and slaughter all the men, but on paper...pretty cool.

I don't think you really have to be reading Wonder Woman to follow Amazons Attack. Especially since this attack is pretty damn sudden in WW. Plus, a lot of stuff gets repeated. But overall, Amazons Attack is a better read than Wonder Woman. Will Pfeifer is the man.

I like this scene:

I like to think that Batman completely misunderstands Steel. "I know exactly who you mean...Animal Man, right?"

Amazons are cool.

Action Comics #848
Sigh. Fill-ins. I mean...it wasn't terrible. It just wasn't very interesting. Especially since I would REALLY like to know what happens next in the Johns/Donner story. I feel for the fill-in writer because they have a tough job to do. It's like...Bruce Springsteen can't make it tonight, but here's Bryan Adams. Nobody is happy.

The art was alright, but, like, I dunno. I mean...this guy in the sweater is clearly Superman, y'know what I'm sayin'?

That's a very tight sweater.

So Superman goes to a small town to investigate this religion-based superpowered guy who has been killing lots of people (by accident, it seems). You can kind of tell who the superpowered dudes are in this little town. They kinda stand out, like in this church scene:

Soooo much bigger than anyone else in the church. That's gotta hurt the ol' secret identity.

And then scenes like this one just make me uncomfortable:

That's not usually how I stand when I fluff pillows. And, seriously, Superman looks like he's on the body building circuit. It's a little crazy-looking.

How long is this storyline?

52: Week 51

Well, this was pretty good. Animal Man is back! Yay!

Hilarious.

And Adam Strange got his sight back. Hooray! And Lobo killed that evil dolphin! And Skeets isn't evil, he's just been taken over...by the GROSSEST THING I HAVE EVER SEEN. I will not even post a picture of it here. I seriously couldn't look at it.

Here's a little fact about me: I hate Starfire. HATE her. She is so gross-looking, and so boring, and so over-used because she is basically naked. I really hope she's the one that dies (y'know, that whole thing where a character's death kicks off Countdown supposedly? Please be Starfire). So I really enjoyed this:

Ellen rules. Also: "Double DD's"?? Is that, like, double-double-Ds?

Is she dead?! Is she dead?! Is she dead?!

This was interesting:

Awwwwwww. It would have been better if Robin's new costume was half denim too.

One final thing about 52 this week: is Ralph Dibny dead for real? If he is, I am going to be very, very sad/angry. I assumed he wasn't really dead, but now I worry that he is. And if so, how dead is he? Green Arrow dead, or Bruce Wayne's parents dead? Please don't be dead, Ralph! I can't handle losing Ted and the Question and you!

Blue Beetle #14

A new addition to the Living Between Wednesdays weekly haul! I finally got caught up on this series, and just in time for this delightful Gardner-centric romp!

Unfortunately, I couldn't scan any of it because I borrowed it, but I would like to say that I loved Gardner's casual clothes. Especially the chain.

It took me awhile to pick up these comics because I was so pissed about Ted Kord being killed. I love that guy. Kind of the same reason why I wouldn't read the New Atom. But they are both really good series. Goes to show what you miss out on when you're a stubborn jerk.

Connor Hawke: Dragon's Blood #6

Mud wrestling! In dragon's blood!

Cue the porn music aaaaand...roll the clips!

And that's the end of that story! Wait...what was it about again? Connor not being gay or something?

Justice #11
Hal Jordan fans rejoice, because there was a whole lotta him in this issue. Lookin' fine.

My favourite thing about this issue is that Ralph Dibny survived being eaten by Clayface. Man, it was just really good to see him again...totally sane.

Sometimes I get confused about what's happening in Justice vs what's happening in DC continuity. And sometimes it's the same. Like...Captain Marvel defeating Black Adam and forcing him to become mortal again. It all looked very awesome:

Have we seen an Alex Ross rendition of John Stewart before this series? Because he looks awesome:

Here's some of that Hal Jordan radness I was talking about. I love how crazy he makes Sinestro:

"Shut the hell up!" Aw, he's just saying what we're all thinking.

This cracked me up:

Ha! Quote of the week.

And here's a page that I stared at for quite a long time:

I especially like Ralph Dibny in this picture. And the little Bat Family reunion.

Like most issues of this series, there were some totally confusing things, and way too much going on. But it all looked fantastic.

Justice Society of America #5

Ok, when I said my comics this week left me feeling kinda meh...I was not including JSA. This comic rocked. You got your dark, crazy Batman first half in Arkham, and you got your bright, cheerful Superman/very brief history of the Legion of Superheroes half in the Fortress.

Lots of great moments, like this one:

Is that a Meltzer dig? Probably not, but it should make all the fans who cry foul when the heroes call each other by their first names happy.

But, seriously. I love Starman and his craziness. And I loved this:

"I make things heavy!" Awww.

Also, there are a whole lot of Batmans in this issue. So there's some sweet Batman-on-Batman action:
Batmans!

I also just want to quickly mention that this gets my vote for creepiest panel of the week:

Ewww! Get away from Dream Girl, Skeletor Dr Destiny!

I am loving this cross-over. LOVING IT!

Outsiders Annual #1

I checked this out because I love annuals. As I read this I suddenly remembered that I don't care about The Outsiders. I love me some Roy and some Nightwing, but damn. This is pretty boring. Annuals should be funner than this. I haven't read Outsiders since Infinite Crisis, so there are probably people out there who will get more out of this than I did.

Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America #2 featuring The Avengers

I feel that this is a good idea for a series, and could potentially be very good, but the whole thing is very summer blockbuster. The all-star line-up of artists is great, and the cute way of making each issue a different stage of grief is neat, but overall...meh. I do want to say, because I don't think I mentioned it last time, that the lack of first-person narrative in Loeb's writing is refreshing and surprising. However...I dunno. I think I would have liked to see Bendis on this mini-series. It's just that...Loeb kinda came out of nowhere to do this. He wasn't working on any major Marvel titles leading up to, or during Civil War. He's on there because it sells issues, and it's kind of too bad because this series could probably be a whole lot better. Like, I am a very casual Marvel reader, and this series is too spelled-out to even hold my interest, y'know what I'm saying? It's all a little "I am The Thing. I like beer and poker." "I am Wolverine. I am a jerk with a good heart under my gruff exterior." "I am Spider-Man. I am emo and annoying."

Thumbs up on the McGuinness art, though. Very nice. And, of course, I bought his cover and not the Turner variant.

I gave Wolverine #53 a quick read, but it was so terrible I'm not even gonna bother reviewing it. And the next issue...Wolverine fights Sabertooth. Ok. They must know how ridiculous that is. It must be a joke, right? That every issue ends with the same preview of the next issue, more or less?

26 comments:

Caleb said...

Yeah, Connor Hawke: Straight As an Arrow (And Totally Not Gay...Not That There's Anything Wrong With it, but He's Not, Okay? was about how Connor likes girls, not dudes.

So of course it ends with him mud-wresling a mostly naked man.

Super Edco said...

I totally thought the same thing about WW's supposed birthmark.

Captain Infinity said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Captain Infinity said...

So...Wonder Woman can't pump gas but she knows all about hockey?

Gail can't get here soon enough.

Jon Hex said...

In that last issue of Superman/Batman, Batman knocked out Metallo with his bare hand, right? That's not possible. And if that was Supes & Bats first meeting with Will Magnus, why does it seem like it takes place now?

rachelle said...

If we start questioning everything that was wrong about that last issue of Superman/Batman, we'll be here all night. The list just goes on and on.

No. Seriously. WHY would you have Will Magnus be an important character in 52, arguably using 52 as a come-back platform for the character, and then have him show up in Superman/Batman as a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT character? Why do you hate your readers, DC? Why?

Gemini said...

This is my first post to your wonderful blog. I enjoy it quite a bit. I am however sad that the first time I was stirred to respond is that you hate Starfire?? Seriously? She's my favorite hero....Love her! Not kidding, since the first panel she appeared in DCCP #26 my heart melted. Why does everyone hate her so much?
Sigh. At least she has me as her biggest fan. I love her super hot brother too!
Ok, as always great reviews. You are one of only four sites I visit about comics regularly! Keep it up!

rachelle said...

Aw, I'm sorry to stomp on your favourite hero. I'll tell you this, though, I may hate Starfire, but I love diehard fans of second-string characters. I love it when someone is, like, a hardcore Red Tornado fan.

Well, for your sake, I hope Starfire isn't dead.

Derek said...

"Is that a Meltzer dig?"

Ahahaha! I thought the same thing.

You're probably right, it probably wasn't, but wouldn't it be great if it was?

Anonymous said...

Hee!
I love Red Tornado, actually.

Sort of. I mean, I know very little about, but he's still awesome. He's a robot. That makes tornados! How cool is that?

Plus, I love, love his costume design. It's like he thought "What can I wear to look really garish? I know! blue cape with red and yellow costume!" And it's got a popped collar! Fantastic!

I kind of want to read Justice, now, because, in that last picture, Red Tornado appears to be removing a mask, reveiling... the same face underneath. Hee.

Those pics from AC 848 are... all kinds of wrong. That final frame is wrong on so many levels... look how tiny his waist is compared to his shoulders... he looks like his shoulders are easily twice as wide as his hips. Weeeeird.

rachelle said...

Oh I know a guy who loves Red Tornado. And it's very cute.

It makes me wish my favourite hero wasn't Batman. It's just so common.

DougieB said...

Wolverine has been absolutely horrible for this entire Sabretooth run - which is pretty amazing considering that most people already love reading about Logan. It takes serious commitment to really make me sad to have spent time reading one of my favorite characters.

In that aspect, i suppose my hat is off to Loeb, seeing as how he is also responsible for the second worst book on my pull list this week, in Fallen Son. meh.

(love the blog, btw.)

Anonymous said...

It makes me wish my favourite hero wasn't Batman. It's just so common.

Well, if I were forced to choose between Red Tornado and Batman, have no doubt that the robot would end up on the scrap-heap.

Red Tornado makes me giggle, but Batman is pretty much 200 proof Awesome.

SallyP said...

Blue Beetle was definitely the pick of the litter this week. It had Guy Gardner, and killer robot penguins! What's not to like? And (sniff) mention of Ted.

Justice was pretty good, and wasn't that a LOVELY John Stewart?

JSA was excellent as usual, Starman is quite adorable. Geo Force is kind of a twit, so I loved the "you smell like mud" comment. Heh.

Connor Hawke was ok. So...does he have new powers now from the dragon blood?

Wolverine was completely incomprehensible. Nice art, but a plot would have been nice. *sigh*

Amazons Attack wasn't too bad, although you did have to read Wonder Woman to even know what the heck was going on. I do find the dialogue between Diana and Nemesis to be very forced however. Much too "cute".

Anonymous said...

S/B had to go. The only redeeming feature about the last story arc is that it ended.

Other than that, the title's recent writing has been incomprehensible and uninteresting.

Anonymous said...

Outsiders is okay, but I'm just kind of excited about a book which has Metamorpho leading a team. Now *there* is an underused character! Ah alas.

Superman/Batman is pretty bad, but thier first arc wasn't *that* awful. Confusing, yes, but not awful. [I like the one shot idea. On an unrelated topic, a Bizzaro World series with the indie cartoonists would be divine.]

Also, that scene with Lois and creepy muscles Superman looks like it was taken out of a porno. Which is kinda cool in an odd sense.
-Robolizard

Skeleton Munroe said...

That's the bad end of the 'depicting Clark Kent' spectrum, where All Star Superman is the good end.

He's trying *not* to look like Superman, guys.

Jon Hex said...

There is NOTHING wrong with loving Batman. Nothing at all.

Anyone else think those were Elseworlds Batmans?

And I can't wait for the end of 52, because 'worlds' is pretty vague. Do they mean 52 universes or just 52 planets? Or hell 52 possible futures, Morrow did say 52 morrows?

rachelle said...

Yeah! I totally saw some Elseworld Batmans in there! It was rad.

I don't know what the deal with 52 is exactly, but I think it'll be 52 Earths. My comic shop boss suggested there could be Earths 1 to 26, and then Earths A to Z. That would make 52.

They should charge $52 for the last issue. That would be a great scam. And we'd all totally have to buy it.

Jon Hex said...

I think they're saving that price tag for the six or seven trades. I would buy the trades if they went issue by issue saying who wrote what, so I can post every bit Morrison did.

CO260 Pete T said...

52 and Justice Society were the only good comics to come out of this week. I feel like Fallen Son is just stealing my money, and Superman/Batman...well, that was never good, except for the Annual. I just wish the quality that is Geoff Johns was good in every one of his books, but he can only maintain greatness with one book at a time. Right now it is JSA, but Teen Titans is suffering...

Who put Loeb in charge of anything that isn't Hush. I liked that one.

rachelle said...

Yeah, I liked Hush too. I thought it was fun. I thought the ending chomped, but the ride there was a good time.

Anonymous said...

I think most of us Comics FanGirls are Ted Kord fans. I was heart broken when he was killed. Maybe an Earth Charlton could undo that wrong.

I too hate Starfire. The '80s are calling and they want her hair.

-Lauren

Batmanisgrim said...

I was so stunned when the father and son were killed in Amazons Attacks#1. Those Amazons mean business.

rachelle said...

That was very hardcore. I know it turned some people off because it was so brutal. But...I mean...If it had been someone else attacking. Say, Darkseid. And he had killed a father and son...It would have been brutal, but I don't know if it would have bothered that many people. Plus, we just watched Black Adam waste a whole pile of people. I think I'm desensitized.

Anonymous said...

I actually loved blitzkrieg. it was a whiff of fresh air to see a villainess so unabashedly vain, superficial and exibiotinist... all she wants is to be famous... if a little girl has to die, well, so be it... it wouldn't bring quite as much fame had it been a middle-aged fat guy... ;)