This Week's Haul: These Birds Have Flown

Just a quick one this week. Focusing on getting new site up. Talking like Rorschach.

Hey, here's something neat! My old post on Batman: Year Two has been translated into Spanish for a Peruvian comics blog! Check it out. Thanks to blog author Giancarlo Roman for doing that! I have no idea what it says! I am especially happy about it because that has always been one of my favourite posts.

Robin #183/ Birds of Prey #127

This was the last issue of Robin, one of several DC titles to come to an end this month. It's bittersweet to be losing all these titles because, while I enjoy them and have been reading them for a long time, it's been awhile since an issue has done anything for me. Which is probably why they are being canceled. Of Nightwing, Robin and Birds of Prey, Robin was the strongest title, I think, at least at the time of cancellation. Tim Drake is a great character, and can almost carry his own title. Almost. I actually would have liked to see a Robins title (um, maybe not called that) featuring Dick, Tim and Jason, especially now that Batman is out of the picture for awhile. Why battle for the cowl when you could have three perfectly capable guys (well, two) holding down the fort?

Anyway, as I was saying, this was the last issue of Robin. And, unlike the final issues of Nightwing and Birds of Prey, this was actually a pretty good ending. As far as I'm concerned, Will Pfeifer set the bar pretty high for ending a Gotham-based comic with Catwoman #82. That was a great comic. Robin wasn't that good, but it tied up some things, opened up new possibilities, and kept the soul-searching and personal reflection on a career in crimefighting to a reasonable level. There was a running interior monologue throughout the issue, but it wasn't way over the top like, say, last week's issue of Nightwing.

Birds of Prey, on the other hand, went out with a whimper. Man, I like Tony Bedard, but this really felt like the comic had been punched in the gut and was trying desperately to crawl out of the room unnoticed. A completely unmemorable ending to a fairly significant, and at one time beloved, comic series.

Next week: the final issue of Blue Beetle (sob!). Of all the titles getting canned this month, I am the most disappointed about this one. The rest come as a bit of a relief because I can really reduce my pull list. I actually expect to make a lot of cuts over the next few months, but hopefully I'll be able to replace some of them with exciting new series. Like Jeff Parker's highly entertaining Mysterius, which was also out this week (#2), and Jersey Gods, the first issue of which hit stores a couple of weeks ago. It will definitely satisfy your New Gods cravings.

Holy crap guys! The Watchmen movie is, like, soon!

Well, that makes it easier.

AN ACTUAL EXCERPT FROM AN ACTUAL CONVERSATION I HAD WITH CHRIS SIMS YESTERDAY:

Me: I think I am going to roll back my pull list a bit. I'm looking at you, Nightwing, Robin and possibly Birds of Prey...

Well, alright then. Decision made.

Who exactly are Humpty Dumpty's enemies? Walls?

Ugh. Stupid boring real life is really eating up all my time lately. I have a huge stack of comics from this week that I won't be able to read for days. AND a new issue of Comic Foundry! Yay!

School is over forever in about six weeks. My band is in Atlanta tonight playing a show with the Black Lips, and I am home writing marketing case study reports. Sigh.

It's times like this that I need a hit of comic book craziness. Because only comic books can deliver complete fantastic nonsense like this:

You're not going to see that scenario anywhere else! Certainly not in these marketing textbooks!

This Week's Haul: Grab Bag Week

Every four to five weeks or so I hit what I call the 'grab bag week.' This was one of those weeks. The big titles this week were, of course Buffy and Dark Tower, but since I don't read those I get an odd selection of sidekicks and minor characters. With a couple of notable Marvel exceptions.

Nightwing #145

This has actually turned itself into a really good Bat title. The current storyline is totally messed up and insane, but very fun. And the Morales art has been fantastic.

This issue is also monumental because, I believe, it's the first time I've seen the word 'vaginally' in a mainstream superhero comic. And it's not even used the way you'd expect in a Nightwing comic!

Robin/Spoiler Special

As I mentioned in the comment section of the last post, I don't really care one way or the other about the lack of memorial in the Batcave for poor Stephanie Brown. I liked her as a character, I hated everything about the War Games storyline, and I am glad that she's back. I think the whole "Hey guys! I faked my own death! Leslie helped!" return is pretty lazy, but I forgive it. I kinda feel the same way about it that I do about Brand New Day: I don't care how they did it, as long as they fixed it.

So this comic was pretty good. Two stories, both by Chuck Dixon and both with great art. I enjoy Robin and Spoiler together. It's got a nice old school Robin/Batgirl feel. Stephanie is the Barbara to Tim's Dick.

Wait. That didn't come out right.

Secret Invasion #3

Alright, here we go.

So, is Tony Stark a Skrull or what? And if he is, is that good or bad? I mean, obviously that's an easy way to explain away why he's such a douche now, but at the same time...

Well, either way, Yu has been at the top of his game with the art on this series so far. And I'll say this: whatever is happening in this whole Secret Invasion thing, it's holding my interest. Keep it up, Marvel!

Jonah Hex #32

Matador vs Bull!

Bear vs Bull!

Hex vs Bull!

Hex vs Scum Bag!

And all with fabulous Jordi Bernet art! Darwyn Cooke is doing the art for the next issue, in which Hex travels to Canada! I can't wait! I'll bet Darwyn draws some attractive mounties!

Justice Society of America #16

I really like comics/television episodes where the characters are granted wishes, so I really enjoyed this.

Damage gets his face fixed! Yay!

Lookin' good, buddy! We should introduce Gog to Jonah Hex.

Overall, I'm not super into this whole Kingdom Come storyline, but I really like this big, happy Gog.

And I like that Black Adam is working his way back into a JSA title.

Midnighter #20

This is a the final issue in a story that, I'm just gonna say it, got pretty bland after Giffen took over. Love Giffen, but this just wasn't a good run. This series started with a fantastic Ennis story about traveling through time to kill Hitler, and continued to be very good until the latest storyline. This issue, however, was pretty good. Certainly very violent, which is the reason to read Midnighter comics.

I am sorry it's canceled because I was hoping for a day that it would get awesome again. Oh well. If only the Morrison/Ha Authority comics would ever continue.

Justice League Unlimited #46

Another final issue. I find it sad when an all-ages title bites the dust, but I guess it's inevitable when the series has been off the air for several years. And, really, the series was more for nerdy adults than kids anyway. The end of this series means the end of the fantastic institution that is Justice League Unlimited. A great show, and a fun comic. This issue, much like every issue of this series, probably had too much going on in it for young kids, which is why Super Friends makes a lot more sense as an all-ages title. But it did make me think that a Green Lantern Corps cartoon series/all-ages comic would be a great idea. I mean, come on...Gnort? Gnort is made for all-ages reading!

Trinity #1

I love the cover because Superman is all "My logo's in focus! Bam!" As an aside...I really hate that Trinity logo. It's like "We need a logo for this series...pile them all on top of each other! No wait...that looks weird...um, blur the bottom two."

I had pretty low expectations for this, after the crushing disappointment that was Countdown. This wasn't bad though. At worst, it was boring. And that's just how I felt. Maybe I just don't have the energy for another weekly. The issue was fine, I just didn't read it and think "Sign me up for another 51 issues of this!"

The Amazing Spider-Man #561

This was SO GOOD. Really, there are no complaints at all about this series so far coming from me. Especially if they are putting people like Marcos Martin on art. (It should come as no surprise that I am a huge fan of Batgirl: Year One).

I never thought I would say this, but Spider-Man is now one of my favourite titles. And JLA is one of my least favourite. What crazy, upside-down times we live in.


Sorry these reviews are so late this week. I was having some computer troubles. Better late than never though, right? And I am trying really hard to not make it never.

This Week's Haul: TED!!!

Welcome to Living Between Wednesdays: Home of the Slowest Comic Reviews on the Internet!

Well, here they are. As always I welcome discussion on these comics, or any other comics that were released this week. Possible topics for discussion may include:

• Iron Fist was totally awesome.
• This new Grendel series is totally awesome.
• Justice League is still terrible.
• The Incredible Herc rules.
• How awesome is that DC Action Figure Archive book?
  

Booster Gold #6

Ted's back?! For true?! I am aware that this is likely a fake-out, but I am still very happy. TED!

See, this is how you gracefully retcon stuff, Spider-Man. You don't make a magical deal with the devil. That's just retarded. The way you do it is you get a man from the future to travel through time with his robot friend and another time traveler. Then you get him to team up with three other versions of a dead character and save the dead friend's life.

I mean, it just makes sense. No magic. No devil. It's called science, Marvel. Look it up.

But seriously, if Ted is back for real than this was the best explanation for a dead character coming back to life ever. For that reason alone they should keep him alive. And also because I LOVE HIM.

Catwoman #75

Two observations I made about this issue right off the bat:

1. I hate Salvation Run
2. If it has to exist, I wish Will Pfeifer was writing Salvation Run

I don't think I have reviewed an issue of Salvation Run yet, mostly because I'm really not feeling it and I am trying not to review stuff that I hate so much anymore. It's not totally awful, I just don't think it's being done well. I like elements of it. For instance, I like comics with Amanda Waller. I also like that she double crosses the Suicide Squad. I like the Flash Rogues all being there together. I like Martian Manhunter being undercover there. But that's about it. The Super Villain Survivor competition between the two camps is pretty ridiculous. This is not where I want to see The Joker. At all.

And it DEFINITELY isn't where I want to see Catwoman. But, as usual, Will Pfeifer takes lemons and makes a great comic. I really liked the way he wrote Lex Luthor in this issue.

Speaking of Catwoman, I want to know more about this image that was featured in the back of every DC comic this week. Because it's awesome:


Robin #170

Chuck Dixon takes over, along with Chris Batista, as of this issue. The result is a pretty excellent comic. Robin has been a pretty solid comic for awhile now, thanks to the great work by Adam Beechen. It still isn't a title that I have committed myself to buying every month, but that might change. I bought this issue and I was really impressed. Dixon knows Gotham better than most writers, and he writes the characters really well. Tim was great, Batman was great for the few scenes he appeared in. And...The Penguin was fantastic! A proper Penguin: rich, powerful, and scary as hell. It was nice to see him restored to his cold-blooded glory.

Very noticeably, Dixon noted the absence of a memorial in the Batcave for Stephanie Brown in this issue. To that I say 'meh,' but I am interested in seeing where this story goes. Especially if the art is going to be this fantastic:


The Amazing Spider-Man #547


Well, those who didn't like that Spider-Man didn't appear in the first issue should be satisfied with this one. I wasn't so much bothered by that. I was just so happy to have Peter Parker back that I was perfectly happy to wait another issue to see the red tights. Happily, the classic costume is back, man-made web-shooters, web wings and all (is that what you call those things?).

Another great issue. I loved that the last one opened with Peter kissing a hot girl, and this one opened with him giving J.J.J. mouth-to-mouth.

For more fun Spider-Man this week, check out Marvel Adventures Avengers. It was lots of fun.

Birds of Prey #114

Ok, putting Sean McKeever on this title was a great idea! One of my favourite things about this title is that there tends to be more downtime than in most superhero comics. So you get to see the ladies hanging out a lot. And they drink quite often. Lady Blackhawk is basically an alcoholic. McKeever writes some good downtime.

Poor Barbara is going totally crazy after the whole Metropolis-getting-blown-up thing that happened last issue. Misfit is trying to redeem herself. Huntress and Zinda are drunk. A good issue all around.

This Week's Haul: Brand New Day

Blah. I had an 8.5 hour operations management class today. My brain is fried. Time for comics!

The Amazing Spider-Man #546

I LOVED THIS!

One More Day was terrible beyond words. It was actually a giant insult to comic readers everywhere, as far as I'm concerned. But this issue of the all-new Spider-Man was excellent. Peter Parker is a lovable loser, it's funny, he has a secret identity, he's friends with Harry Osborne, he's single, he's broke...it's great.

Scenes like this one, where Peter is looking for a job, are so enjoyable:

Oh, Spider-Man. It's so nice to laugh out loud while reading your comics, and know that the writer wants me to.

So while One More Day was just awful, at least it led to this. Even if it took the laziest route possible.

Now if I could just think about this comic without getting that damn Sting song in my head.

Green Lantern Corps #20

I loved this because it TOTALLY sounded like Guy and Kyle decided to get married.

They have, in fact, decided to move to Oa together. And Guy is going to open a bar there! I think this is a fun development.

I love how Hal and John are all "Wow, that's a big decision. Are you guys sure? When did you decide this?" Totally sounds like they're getting married.

Hee!

Green Arrow/Black Canary #4

This issue was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I mean, obviously it looked fantastic. Chiang's art is so good that it can even make scenes as goofy as this one look amazing:

The hero who is panicking and yelling at everyone because a loved one is on the brink of death story line is nothing new, but there was something extra touching about Ollie losing it on everyone over Connor. Especially when Hal got there.

Awwwww.

And then Black Lightning makes a fairly sensible observation:

I would think that, being a member of Meltzer's Justice League, he wouldn't even notice that anymore.

Wally's comment here confused me:

Arthur is in the water? Really? Where? What's his status? I thought he was dead. Or whatever.

So Connor isn't dead. But he is brain dead. You can still be hot when you're brain dead right?

Nightwing #140

Saaaay...this was good! Rags Morales serves up some great-looking art, and Tomasi gives us a story that's kinda like Nightwing: Brand New Day.

Nightwing is making some changes. He's making an HQ for himself in New York, for one:

Look at how nice that art is!

I loved this meeting between Batman and the two boys about family always coming first:

Oh, Batman.

The Nightwing title has a long, proud tradition of being very boring, but I really liked this issue. I look forward to more!

Marvel Adventures Hulk #7

This was totally awesome as always. I know there was that other big Hulk comic out this week, but I would advise everyone to buy this one instead. I mean, if you like Hulk. Like, regular Hulk being Hulk. But maybe you guys aren't interested in fun adventure stories full of the greatest Marvel characters. Maybe you want Hulk to be red.

I mean, check this out: Bruce Banner wants to step in and help out the Silver Surfer, so he asks Rick to punch him. Rick refuses. Hilarity ensues:

Jeph Loeb can't write funny like that, people!

Superman #672


All I want to say about this is that I hate insects. They are gross.

Ew.

The Spirit #12

Ohhhhhhhh...why did this have to be so good? The last Spirit comic by Darwyn Cooke and J. Bone and it was so damn perfect that now I'm all upset.

Why does this have to end but Marvel Zombies continues?! It's not fair!

I want a Cooke-designed Spirit action figure. Anyone else?

Scalped #13


This is the first issue of a new arc and it was AWESOME. I think this might be the best storyline yet. Although, really it is all one long storyline. I hope everyone is reading this series by now. You can buy the first trade with a money back guarantee! Do it! (I'll bet they get exactly zero books back from unsatisfied customers).

Teen Titans Lost Annual

Oh man. Bob Haney + Jay Stephens + Team Allred + JFK = the best.

I am pretty vocal about my love for the late, great Bob Haney. Nobody can write insanity like that man could. Sadly, he never got to see this comic before he died. Happily, the rest of us have finally gotten that opportunity.

JFK is kidnapped by aliens who believe his leadership skills will help them win a war on their planet. He is replaced by a shape-shifting alien. Robin notices. The Titans go to the distant planet to help win the war so the president can return to Earth. While all this is going on, the president is assassinated...on Earth...as in, it's actually the shape shifter who is famously killed, not the real JFK. The real Kennedy decides that the shock of revealing that he is actually still alive would be too much for Earth to handle (??!!...so his wife and son can just deal with the loss, I guess). He decides to return to the far away planet, where he continues to live happily.

Bob Haney is the greatest writer of all time. And this panel alone proves it:

Yeah, that's definitive Haney right there.

The art looks really great. The cover is beautiful. There's a lovely Nick Cardy sketchbook in the back.

Showcase Presents Robin The Boy Wonder

Trust me. You want this. If you don't own it you are missing out on heartwarming classic tales like this one:

Ha Ha! Good luck, boys!

***

Good news, everyone! I have found the perfect wedding cake!

And they make cupcakes too! Which are more fashionable these days.