52 Week 48: I miss Vic Sage. Renee Montoya is a cool character, but he was cooler. I honestly think they could have spun a mini series at least out of The Question and Renee Montoya teaming up in this series. They were really entertaining. Since The Question's death, Renee's become a lot less entertaining, and I have a feeling that people are just going to resent her. Anyway, she officially becomes The Question in this issue, as she finally gets the faceless mask thing going on. Nightwing fights a tentacle monster. It's a good issue, but everything that happens is a foregone conclusion. Also, Black Adam is still being tortured and now they're auctioning him off. the Birds of Prey origin was really good.
Detective Comics #831: I love Harley Quinn. I should just get that out of the way from the start. I especially love Dini writing Harley Quinn. She's his baby and he takes good care of her. She is awesome in this issue. I love that it showed off her zaniness, but also her intelligence. She's tough too, and despite all the bad things she has done, she's also inherently very sweet at heart. I also love how empowered and independent she's become. It's wonderful to see that despite being reformed and having a better grip on her sanity, Harley is still so joyful and childlike. Her big flip (and I mean the literal kind) when she gets released from Arkham is priceless. This issue also shows off one of the interesting things about Batman. For all his darkness and cynicism, he has a genuine belief in reform, or at least a genuine desire to believe in reform.
Justice League of America #7: So the League is finally formed and they have a Hall and a Satellite. I do hope that in a later issue we get a bit of narration that reads "Meanwhile, at the Hall of Justice." Also, there's an odd Danger Room reference. (DC allows that sort of thing?) Actually, all the pop culture references are a bit weird, but overall, I really liked this issue. It had a lot of nice character stuff. And I learned that I really like Roy. I like him a lot. His joy at getting invited to be part of the team was infectious, and it was sweet to see how proud Dinah, Ollie and Hal were of him, especially after the whole "My ward is a junkie!" thing. (I just really like that cover. Comedy gold.) However, Red Arrow is the dorkiest name ever. Why on earth would anyone give up a genuinely cool name like Arsenal in favor or Red Arrow? I'm also not a fan of how Meltzer is developing the relationship between Roy and Hawkgirl. It's so heavy handed, and has been since Roy first saw her and said "Pretty bird." (Even I, with my limited DC knowledge said to myself upon reading that, "So I guess they're going to hook up and be the new Green Arrow and Black Canary. Boring.") I also loved how Black Lightning kept asking if Bruce designed everything and kept getting told "no," because Batman shouldn't do everything. However, he should have given them the penny. Finally, I love Dinah being the new chair person, and the resons given for why she'd be perfect for it. I guess DC really meant it when they said that Black Canary was ready to be more high profile. At least their putting their money where their mouth is with one of their female characters.
Superman #661: This was a fun little stand alone, but certainly not anything crucial. I didn't necessarily feel like I wasted my money, but I wouldn't have felt like I missed out on anything had I not bought it. It was pure Silver Age, from the art to the dialogue, to the word balloons on the cover, so it was kind of interesting to see that they aren't just bringing Silver Age elements back to the DCU, but they're willing to tell Silver Age stories as well. That's cool, but it could easily be taken too far. I thought Khyrana was a villain with potential (and it looks like we might be seeing her again) and I liked the interaction between all the characters.
Superman Confidential #4: I'm getting to this a week late, but it's still worth mentioning. I originally picked up this series purely for Tim Sale's art, which is absolutely gorgeous, but I am loving the story too. Darwyn Cooke writes these characters so well, and the concept continues to intrigue me. Most of the action in this issue centers around Superman getting his ass kicked, but it's all good because it's his first exposure to Kryptonite, even though no one knows that he's being exposed to Kryptonite yet. There's a lot of intrigue with Lex as well, which is cool. I can't wait to find out what the deal is with this sentient Kryptonite is. As for the last page, my money is on robot.
Runaways #25: It's obvious that, as great as Joss Whedon and Michael Ryan are, the change over from Vaughn and Alphona is going to be hard to adjust to. Everything is just slightly off. the characters' voices aren't exactly the same. This has to be what it was like to read the first Gerry Conway issue of Amazing Spider-Man after 100+ issues of Stan Lee, only maybe moreso, because as brilliant as Stan Lee was, Vaughn wrote his characters with a lot more consistency than Lee ever did. (It was easier for Vaughn, since he wrote a lot fewer issues and a lot fewer characters in general.) This is still a very good read though, and I am very excited for the next issue. There's some interesting conflict between the Runaways; Xavin continues to work his/her way into my heart; and Molly and Chase continue to be the best ever. However, since I work in lower Manhattan, I was completely distracted by the building they were breaking into and the surrounding area. I'm not entirely certain that the building they are standing on, when they are looking across at the building they are going to break into, is finished being built. Oh well, that's my nitpicky little complaint. Overall, despite some minor problems, I think this arc is going to rock, and I am excited to see how much trouble the Runaways get themselves into.
That's all for the reviews, now for a little rant. Here's a little something from Newsarama's latest New Joe Fridays:
Q: Mundungus 03-30-2007 01:34 AM
If Wilson Fisk is currently permanently expelled from U.S. soil according to the recent Daredevil arc, how is he operating as the Kingpin in the recent Runaways preview? I'll assume Runaways now takes place post-Civil War, so I'm a little befuddled by this. Especially if the Hood is soon to be taking a rise to power. Did someone not give Whedon the memo?
JQ: Joss definitely got the memo, Mundungus...and read it. Runaways is post-Civil War and in continuity. We talked it all over with Brubaker (who is a gentleman, a scholar and Kristin Bell’s #1 fantasy) and he was cool with it.
Here's how it works: just because you quit something doesn't mean that you're easily extricated from it. He's in NY wrapping up some loose ends that he had to deal with. It's only temporary. You'll see a reference to current DaredevilL continuity in Runaways #26. The Runaways have been on the run during the whole "Fisk in prison" stuff and contacted him through channels set up when their parents were in charge of the LA criminal underground. A lot of this will become clearer as the story goes on, true believer.
Q: Spidey616 04-01-2007 12:34 AM
Hey Joe. As much as I love Brian Michael Bendis' take on the Avengers, especially with the first issues of this team division, I just have to say one criticism for New Avengers #28. With Spidey going "Back in Black" to reflect his new dark mindset, this character development seemed inconsistent with how Bendis portrayed Spider-Man, cracking jokes and being as loveable as he ever was. Juxtaposed with ASM #539, Spidey's breaking arms and bodies and not caring whether or not he kills someone. So what I'm trying to ask is if we'll be seeing more consistency with the character, and is this just the tip of the iceberg of Spidey's darker image?
JQ: Okay, to the source one more time!
Brian Bendis: JMS and I have always written different takes on the character. JMS has been putting him through the emotional wringer ever since I was able to get him on the Avengers. In JMS' stories there hasn't been as many opportunities for Spidey to be trash-talking fun loving web-head, those stories demand a more serious focus.
But in Avengers, being the perpetual loner finally on a team, with the group dynamic the way it is, there is more room for Spidey to be that Spidey. I know some think I think I'm writing Ultimate Spider-Man in the Avengers, but I'm just writing Spidey as the neurotic, trash talking, genuinely, funny, hopeful, web-head he is.
Once again I have to ask myself what the hell the editors at Marvel do that this sort of character inconsistency is considered OK. During previous Spider-Man storylines, like "The Other," I appreciated Bendis' take on the character in New Avengers precisely because it allowed for the character's humor to shine through and was a bit of a respite from the gloom and doom of Spidey's main title. However, it was obvious during those other story arcs that whatever was happening in New Avengers was not happening concurrently with the events of the various Spider-Man titles. Here, it is obvious that the issues Spidey is facing in his regular titles are very much still a reality for him in New Avengers. Simply put, if he is wearing his black costume because of what happened to Aunt May, and he is wearing the black costume in New Avengers, then Aunt May must still be in a coma and Spider-Man should absolutely not be behaving in the manner that Bendis is depicting him. Hell, I would argue he shouldn't even be wasting his time with the Avengers. If Marvel insists on producing such interconnected stories and having the same characters appear in every title, then there needs to be consistency between how the characters are depicted in the various titles, regardless of the writer of any given title's personal take on the character. If there isn't, than anything that happens to the character is largely meaningless since it won't be reflected across the board, thereby rendering the interconnectedness of the titles pointless. Now I have to seriously consider dropping New Avengers, despite the fact that, aside from the Spidey depiction, I am enjoying it quite a bit and it's the only place to get Luke Cage.
In a final bit of...well, it's not really ranting here, but whatever...the award for complete non-answer goes to JMS, for this:
Q: freedom fry 03-30-2007 09:47 PM
I have a question about Amazing Spider-Man #539. The issue states that Peter gave up the black costume because it represented a dark time in his life. And he didn't like the message it sent. Reading Amazing Spider-Man #300, I understood Peter to give up the black suit because Mary Jane was hurt by Venom and she was scared to see Peter in the same suit. Will this be addressed in coming issues of Amazing?
JQ: Let’s go to the source!
J. Michael Straczynski: Precisely, which is why I'm being careful in the writing to make sure she either never sees the black suit, or sees it only rarely. It's meant to intimidate others, not her, so he's being discreet about it. If that whole period didn't represent a dark time in Spidey's life, I can't imagine what would.
That's great, JMS! I appreciate that you're writing Peter as taking his wife's feelings into consideration. I really do, and I certainly hope that this means that you won't be using the black costume as a petty excuse to break Peter and MJ up (I can accept a break up if it's based on legitimate reasons, and that just wouldn't be, and frankly, at this point, you're going to have a pretty damn hard time coming up with one), but that doesn't have anything to do with the question asked. In Amazing Spider-Man #300, one reason is given for Peter giving up the black costume. In Amazing Spider-Man #539, a different reason is given. So what gives? I seriously have no idea why they bother with these sorts of questions if they aren't actually going to answer them. At least say, "I was trying to make the whole return of the black costume more plausible and less movie tie-in gimmicky. Changing some stuff was the best I could do. Sorry to those of you who didn't like it." That's an answer I could respect.
OK, finally we hit the good news portion of my weekly comic reviews post, though this one deffinitely falls more into good news/bad news. Aanyway, it was announced in the most recent DC Nation column that Sean McKeever will be taking over for Gail Simone on Birds of Prey. Now, that's potentially some very bad news, because Gail Simone is doing wonderful things on that title. However, it's good news for two reasons. The first is that, like Simone herself, I am optimistic that McKeever will be a good fit for the title because he can write women well. The second reason is that this news, along with Simone's comments that she was leaving BoP to work on her dream project, adds further credence to the rumors that she will be the new writer on Wonder Woman after Picoult, which is awesome because Wondy needs her. It is a shame that comics first all female writer/artist creative team is being broken up so soon though.
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