Thursday, November 23, 2006

Daredevil #91

Daredevil #91
Happy Turkey Day.
Well, after the extreme confusion of the last two issues, we're finally back on track, and even though nothing is revealed (to us at least) in the issue, everything previous is clarified. I was really let down by the last couple of issues, here I was expecting great things, and then, nothing. Seriously, if I wanted to have no clue what was going on, I'd read Deadman (which, by the way, is utter CRAP).
So now that we know what's going on, Lily was hired to wear a pheromone perfume and confuse Daredevil. How they figured out Karen Page's scent is unknowable, but at least Daredevil is wise to them now, and his internal monologue tells us that he's wise to it. So he lets a mock kidnapping and attempted murder scene play itself out, obviously a trap, while he waits to make his move.
When he does, he dispatches Tombstone.
And then, things get weird. Matador apparently has been ordered to kill Lily, though he agonizes over attempting to do so, claiming that he loves her, but it's probably just the pheromones. So Matt puts him out of his misery. He then gets Lily's part of the story from her...the honest truth, apparently, though as he says earlier in the issue, she's such a good actor, how would he know?
That's it. Not much happens, but at least we understand what does happen. VERY GOOD.

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Civil War

As we saw in White Tiger #1, DaredevilFist uses a voice box. Why none of the other costumes even question it, when it was a big deal to White Tiger? Just another example of a CRAP story by a CRAP writer, which is why lately I've become so much more Johnny DC. When Marvel has this godawful series crossing over into so many unrelated books, it does nothing but weaken the entire Marvel line. I won't even touch this series - it's like poison - and the closest I'll get to it is the NON-JMS Iron Spider books, and Wolverine. I haven't even READ any of the other books with CW bottoms, and I really don't plan on it - except for Cable/Deadpool...eventually. What a mess.

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Smallville 6x07 "Rage"

Smallville 6x07 "Rage"
I love the Green Arrow outfit, especially since they decided to go with a hood. I like the trick arrows, like the taser crossbow bolt. There are a lot of good ideas here. Unfortunately, there's one really bad idea as well. Since Oliver Queen is one of the richest men in Metropolis, if not the world, rich enough to finance pharmaceutical experiments, why couldn't he invest in some light Kevlar for his costume? That would save him a ton of pain and grief, be much safer, and would really negate this entire episode's point. It's not as if he's going to be doing any acrobatics - he's just running around and shooting people. One of the newer Kevlar blends, such as they've been using in the armed forces, would not weigh a strong guy like him down very much.
There's a lot of other things to like about this episode. The whole "Ollie's on drugs" subplot is definitely meant to evoke memories of Roy Harper being addicted to smack. There's a cute line towards the end of the episode where Ollie tells Clark "I'm not even in your league," to which Clark replies "just because you're not indestructible doesn't mean you can't be a hero". Kind of like the "Junior Lifeguards Association" line from last year's episode "Aqua".
It's a fun episode. But this one gaffe is just too bizarre to allow me to rate this episode any higher than GOOD.

Justice League Unlimited #27

Justice League Unlimited #27
It's OKAY. This issue deals with Black Lightning finding a way to put the Parasite out of comission when he's been sucked dry of his powers.
The tragedy is that this issue could have been so much better. It could have been an in depth exploration of what happens to various superheroes when their powers have crapped out on them. It could have dealt with their struggle to define themselves in the face of losing that which makes them the most unique.
It doesn't do any of that. Instead, it buries its potential with a moral about not ever quitting. I understand that this book is geared towards kids, unlike most comics nowadays, but is that really any excuse for missing one's potential so sorely?
The execution of the story itself is OKAY, but no better.

JLA Classified #29

JLA Classified #29
This gets my second-ever HUH? rating. I don't understand what the hell's going on in this book. I even read last issue, and I still don't get it. You know what? Scratch that - this book is AWFUL. And I can't even identify every character! Very sloppy. Skip this. The only positive part of the entire mess is Batman dressing up like the Midnighter and breaking into an office building. Otherwise, this is not a good issue.

Batman #658

Batman #658
I've gotta say, I was seriously underwhelmed by this arc. Morrison can do so much better. Of course, he's done worse. But he made some decisions in telling this story that I really don't understand. For example, at first I was all excited about "Son of the Demon" being brought back into continuity, but then Grant went ahead and crafted a different story around Batman and Talia's child. Completely unnecessary, and not a good decision at all. Then he goes ahead and makes this child a whiny little brat who is so annoying that it's nearly impossibly to empathize with him. Seriously, if he'd truly been raised by the League of Assassins, he'd have been beaten bloody for being such an incorrigible brat. Repeatedly.
And Talia...to have orchestrated this entire scheme merely to get Batman to join her as her husband seems, well, maybe just the slightest bit needy? Codependent? Talia is a strong woman, and I don't see her acting like this. And if all she wants is to be by Bruce's side, then why not join him in crimefighting? Why insist on remaining the head of an inactive assassins' guild? Ridiculous, implausible, and, oh yeah, "Hh" is not a word, nor is it a sound. With each successive use of the pseudo-onomatopeia-like word, I become more and more annoyed.
EH. I miss Dini on Detective. But at least his replacement is keeping stories to single issues.

Monday, November 20, 2006

Robin #156

Robin #156
I was really looking forward to getting this book, and was very happy once I read it. For once, a superhero book with absolutely no fighting whatsoever - just Robin going through an average day. You know there can't always be crazies running around. And just by swinging around randomly, there's no way that Robin could hope to run across a mugging or burglary every single night. So in this issue, we see how Tim spends his downtime. And it's an EXCELLENT glimpse. He visits Dodge in the hospital, he talks to some people he's obviously made connections with, but that we haven't ever seen before - something I'd definitely like to see more of. These interpersonal relationships are important, because they are a large part of what define us as individuals.
At the end of the issue, Robin notices a jumper, so he swings by to talk with him. But mostly to listen. And after the jumper decides not to go through with it, they head out to get breakfast. I'd actually like to see more interactions like this...people being friends with Robin, as opposed to people being friends with Tim.
And it's a one-off story, to boot. EXCELLENT reading.

Birds of Prey #100

Birds of Prey #100
I've been looking forward to this issue for several months now. Although it isn't as good as I had expected it would be, it's still quite EXCELLENT, all the more so since it did not neglect the interaction between Canary and her new sister/daughter Sin. That's the one thing which I may miss most about her departure from the team. The Birds of Prey have always been about the chicks of the DCU, although never exclusively, recalling Beetle's tenure with them, as well as their attempted recruitment of the new Blue Beetle. I agree with Paul's comment as to breasts being, apparently, the only qualification for inclusion on this new team. That said, it surprises me that Babs would have sent out so many invites before whittling the selection down to her top picks, especially when some of those she invited were certain to refuse, as did Power Girl. And since Babs is now going on a recruitment drive, I find that it calls even further into question the decision that she made regarding her treatment of the new Batgirl. I would think that that would have been a perfect place to start beefing up the roster, especially since one of her goals used to be the training of superheroines. With a teacher of Helena's caliber on the permanent roster, her group would be an excellent place to accomplish that. Sort of like a school for metas. Some of her choices seem extremely obscure - I've been reading this series since the days of Gorf, and I still can't figure out who many of the invitees are. I love the inclusion of Kate Spencer on the team, especially since she functions entirely within her civilian identity on it. Barda mystifies me - is that "Big" Barda or the "Little" Barda that was introduced in Teen Titans? It's never made clear. I would assume it to be Big Barda, since she acquits herself competently, but I may be wrong. Anyways, like I said, this issue is quite EXCELLENT. I do hope that the Canary and Sin story is not allowed to fall by the wayside. Even without any sort of superheroing, it's still an interesting relationship.

White Tiger #1

White Tiger #1
It's perfectly readable, and I enjoyed it, but I felt that its most interesting moments revolved around Tiger's interactions with the Black Widow. Also, although it was chucklesome, where, when, and how did Spidey enter into the costume scene? It felt as if a page had been inadvertently omitted. I don't find it to be a smart idea, though, to secure her amulet in a location where it could be snatched by a lucky bad guy. Better to stash it under the suit, and create a facsimile for show. But hey, I'm not a superhero, so what do I know? Just OKAY, but give this book time to create its own identity and it might turn out to be pretty good.

Astonishing X-Men #18

Astonishing X-Men #18

I've been reading other reviewers regularly, even though my own posting has taken a dive as of late. I hope to rectify that situation this week, and I hope that somebody actually noticed. But I've felt like shit for not posting all this time, and the more I've neglected it, the worse I feel.

Regarding Joss Whedon's last arc of Astonishing. Looking back at his limited comics portfolio, it's obvious that his work can be much, much better - just look to his opening arc from way back when on Astonishing. However, even when read together in one shot, these last six issues make very little sense. Sure, there's an underlying advancement of plot, but the details themselves are completely bewildering, to a fault. Often, I hadn't the slightest clue as to what was supposed to be happening - except in the broadest of strokes. Many details made no sense to me whatsoever - even though the art is absolutely beautiful, I still couldn't figure out what was going on. If Buffy had been like this, it would have been cancelled before the start of its second season. And the pacing. Many people, including myself occasionally, have criticized Bendis for his laconic pacing, but this is just ridiculous. If any of Whedon's television programs had been paced like this, they would never have acquired the fanbase which they now yet hold. And, taken as a whole, this story isn't even a good one - in fact, it's considerably weaker than "Danger", which was not very good at all. The only notable parts of this arc were the introduction of the kids in the mansion (which really seems to be quite empty otherwise), and the transformations of Wolverine, Beast, and Cyclops...each of which could still have been focused on for a single issue, while still maintaining the forward momentum of an accelerated story. For instance, each episode could have been presented from the altered viewpoint of one of those main characters. That would have been interesting. I've been seriously considering letting my mail subscription to this title lapse...the next arc will determine my decision. (I need to subscribe to at least two books to retain my current pricing, so I've got to figure out another book to take its place - either Daredevil or Cable/Deadpool - any suggestions?) Regarding this arc, each issue has been more AWFUL than that which preceded it.