It was a decent week though. I forgot to pick up Supernatural: Origins #2 though. I hate it when I do that.
Countdown #47: So, Jimmy Olsen is having freaky dreams, the Monitors are making big speeches and targeting Jason Todd, Donna Troy and Kyle Rayner, the Rogues share a moment, and Mary Marvel gets Black Adam's powers. While the I thought the scene between Trickster and Pied Piper was nice, the Mary Marvel part was the only thing about this issue that was truly interesting. That's why it was too bad that it didn't make much sense. The last time I saw Black Adam he was looking to get his powers back. Now he has them and doesn't want them. It's an obvious attempt to get me to read the upcoming Black Adam mini series, and while I think it was probably successful, I'm very close to dropping this title, so I think DC is losing out in the long run. The basic problem with this series is that it is far too uneven, and unlike 52, which hooked me on the characters from the beginning, Countdown has yet to really make me care more than mild curiosity. It doesn't help that the end of the last issue made a big deal about what it might mean for a god to die and then this issue had no follow through on that. It destroys the whole impact and forward momentum.
Birds of Prey #107: As I suspected, the cover is very misleading, but this was still a rollicking good issue. We've got everyone just brawling, some truly awesome Harley Quinn lines, Huntress and Catman being the sensible ones, while also being flirty (more of this pairing, please), and a really great Deadshot moment. Really great. We do lose a member of the team though, but I think it was worth it to see Zinda take out Spysmasher like that. I am very much looking forward to the Babs/Spysmasher showdown in the next issue. It should be good.
Detective Comics #833: It amazes me that I had dropped this title at one point. Sure I wound up going back and picking up the issues I missed, but there was still a point where I didn't think it was worth continuing to read this title. I am completely flummoxed over how it got from that point to this really great issue. There's so much good here from the character stuff, to the suspense, to a reveal at the end that I really did not see coming. There are also a bunch of Alan Moore references. It's also really nice to see Zatanna clothed here, unlike the last time I saw her where she appeared to be wearing her underwear while helping Superman.
Superman #663: This is one of those issues that is probably essential to the story arc, but feels inconsequential right now. Still, I thought it was fairly entertaining. All the stuff with the New God youngsters was pretty cute. I'm interested to see if anything is going to happen there now that Lightray is dead. It's clear that a lot of stuff is being set up with Arion too. It's no surprise though that Superman has decided not to just sit back and watch civilization crumble. He is Superman after all. I just kind of hope this doesn't lead to a storyline where Superman gets mind controlled and destroys a bunch of stuff, but then snaps out of it and all is better. This whole concept is pretty intriguing and I would like to see the story come to a more satisfying conclusion than that. It's all been pretty philosophical so far, and while there definitely needs to be some action, I don't want things to just end with a brawl.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer #4: This is the last issue of this arc and it's plainly clear that Whedon isn't even trying to reach out to readers that are not familiar with the television show. Warren, aka skinless guy, doesn't even get a name check. I guess that's OK though since, judging by sales, there are a lot more Buffy watchers than comic book readers. That's probably the biggest flaw with this series, but since I am a Buffy fanatic, I don't really have many problems at all with this series. I will say that it has been a little strange the way the story is unfolding though, because it sort of follows the format of the television series, in that while this storyline has ended, it's really just a set up for things to come, but it's different because what was multiple issues here probably would have been cut down to a single episode. The effect is something unlike a normal comic series, but also unlike the television series and is therefore taking some getting used to. Moreso that any of the action is this issue, what was good was the future potential of what was being set up. Willow is rescued, but Buffy and the slayers clearly have bigger things to worry about, and I love that Whedon is revisiting the issue of what a slayer actually is, while also questioning a lot of what Buffy has done when she chose to give all this power to these young women. Nothing's ever black and white with this franchise and everything has consequences. It will be interesting to see how far Whedon can take this without undermining the female empowerment message that he clearly set out to make with the show's series finale. Also, I've never been one of those fans that outright hated Dawn, though I was often frustrated with the character, so I am interested in seeing what develops in Buffy and dawn's relationship. We know that Buffy loves Dawn so much she was willing to sacrifice her life for her, but ever since then there has been an ever growing gulf between them. I think repairing that bond is going to be very important to Buffy and her humanity in the coming months.
Loners #3: I have a confession to make. I have always liked Phil Urich. Sure I thought it was a bit idiotic to try and be a good guy version of the Green Goblin, but that's one of the things I like about him - that he tried. This issue is told from his perspective, and well, he's a little messed up. He's trying to keep everything under control, for him and the group, but he's obviously ready to snap. It doesn't help that they have some major problems with Julie Power now in the hospital after being attacked by Hollow, formally known as Penance before Speedball stole her name, and the leader of the MGH dealers after them because Hollow escaped. In the end, Mickey makes a mysterious deal to make there problems go away, but nobody really feels good about what has happened. Phil does now have a smitten Hollow sleeping on his floor though (and it is absolutely adorable when she kisses him earlier in the book). I'm really enjoying this series, and I really hope Marvel sees fit to make it an ongoing. It's interesting because it isn't a superhero series at all really, but it deals with the issues of being a superhero in a way that I don't think I've seen before. Oh, and this issues John Hughes movie cover inspiration is Weird Science, for anyone keeping track.
Spider-Man Family #3: Usually, the most enjoyment I get out of this title is from the reprints and Mini Marvels stories, which are always adorable, but the new story in this one is really good Tobin does a good job with all the characters and the art is really different and cool. There's just one thing that kept me from loving it. Why didn't Spider-Man see the brick that is floating, practically, right in front of his face?
Uncanny X-Men #487: I had dropped this title during the Shi'ar arc because it was boring and the pacing was all off, but bringing in Storm got me to give it another chance, because, well, Brubaker is good enough for me to think of the previous arc as an anomaly and Storm is cool. So far, this story seems pretty interesting, and given that it is only 5 issues long, I'm confidant that it will hold up better than the last, which also started out as fairly interesting. It seems I did miss quite a bit though, as Corsair is now dead. I wonder if they showed Scott's reaction to that. Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing what's going on with the Morlocks in the post-M-Day Marvel Universe, and I always think it's interesting to see Storm dealing with them. Also, as much as I think everything with Magneto is kind of a mess right now, I'm interested to see if Brubaker brings him back. Somehow I think that if anyone could right Magneto really well at this point, it would be him.
In other news, Smallville has announced that they have added Supergirl to their already over inflated cast. Kara is going to be 19, with a rebellious streak and able to fly...before Clark. This is part of Millar and Gough's ongoing plan to make the lamest incarnation of Superman ever.
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