Metropolis

I just had about the longest July 4th weekend I’ve ever had, and I still haven’t recovered. In the words of Jonah Hex, “I feel like I been et by a wolf, and s*** off a cliff.” For those that care, and I’ll share even if you don’t, my baby boy, Holden, turned three on July 4th. So the day was filled with cake, ice cream and presents, before keeping the kids up way past bedtime for fireworks. And it was all done in that dry ass Texas heat that come along in the dead of Summer and makes you wish you lived in Antarctica.
 
It was in honor of the holiday that I whipped out the newest Captain America trade paperback and Cap. 600 before devoting any time to the new Captain America Reborn mini-series.  Well…..that and the fact that I just wanted to get caught up on C.A. before I even thought about opening Reborn. Okay….that and the fact that I was all caught up on my Netflix DVDs.
 
Anywho….on to the comics!
 
 
DOCTOR WHO CLASSICS: SERIES TWO 8 – This issue marks the first three installments of Steve Parkhouse’s THE STOCKBRIDGE HORROR. It is a sci-fi mystery involving a TARDIS being excavated at an archaeological dig, two charred bodies lying in fields with no signs of burnt foliage around them, and a mysterious assailant able to attack the TARDIS itself. In terms of Doctor Who stories it is quite good, and in terms of sci fi mysteries it remarkably interesting. GOOD STUFF.
 
TERRY MOORE’S ECHO 13 – As always Moore’s ECHO just keeps churning out the intrigue panel by panel while bringing characters to life into fully realized people. Not a whole lot actually happens in this issue, beyond a few confrontations and the introduction of a very imposing new character towards the end, but Moore does it with such skill that you hardly notice that he even furthered the plot along at all. I’ll never get over how he does it. GOOD STUFF.
 
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER: SEASON EIGHT 26 – Yay!  Seth Green as Oz finally comes back into the Buffyverse. Well….even if it is just a drawing of Seth Green… Oz was always one of my favorite characters, and his exit from the show was one that broke my heart, even if Willow became a much stronger character for it. Twilight’s forces assault the Slayers from all fronts, and Buffy and gang have to make a forced retreat – in a submarine. This book just got good again. GOOD STUFF.
 
THE BOYS 32 – Speaking of books that just got good again…we finally see the forces of Vought American make a play against Butcher and The Boys, and it isn’t pretty. I’ll look beyond the naive way that The Boys are tricked into a hospital set up (aren’t they a little too savvy for that?) where they are attacked mercilessly by a team of supers. The good news is that The Female isn’t dead. The bad news is that the supers hurt Butcher’s dog. ….I guess that is more good news actually, cause the sight of an angered Butcher hunting down five (make that four) super powered people locked in the building with him is destined to make this one of the best story arcs this book has ever seen. I just wish Darick Robertson was drawing this instead of Carlos Ezquerra. FANBOY FUN!
 
JONAH HEX 45 – The second part of the epic Six Gun War does more to set up the upcoming war storyline than the first chapter did.  Bat Lash and Tallulah Black have been taken prisoner by El Papaguayo and his banditos, Jonah has been left for dead by those same banditos, and El Diablo (no relation) joins Hex in the hunt for El Papaguayo and those that done him wrong. You just know this will end bloody. Nothing but good old FANBOY FUN!!!
 
BATMAN CONFIDENTIAL 31 – All things considered this Peter Milligan written Bat-tale isn’t bad. Batman and the GCPD are hunting for an evil Russian ganglord with a Thermonuclear warhead – who just happens to have some mutant Russian teen on his side. Two things happened when I started reading this issue. 1) I thought it would end with Batman fighting the under-rated KGBeast and 2) What ever happened to the street level bad guys who want nothing more than to steal things and get away. I appreciate the Bat-villains as much as the next guy, but just once in awhile I would like to see Batman fight someone normal. Someone without a gimmick – like a mutant Russian teenager. is that too much to ask for, DC? OKAY.
 
JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA 28 – So….since when did the world at large know who The Spectre was? At one point during this issue a news copter flying over the JSA HQ sees The Spectre and the reporter calls him by name. I was always under the impression that Spectre was more of a ghostly figure that showed up from time to time, and not someone with the same notoriety as Paris Hilton that any news reporter would be able to name on sight. Eh. Anyway – Jerry Ordway wraps up his two issue fill-in before Bill Willingham and Matthew Sturges take over next issue. Classic Ordway in full effect here – plenty of super heroics, last minute saves, super hero misunderstandings, etc. Decent fun and very GOOD STUFF. Makes me wish the Ordster was going to be more of a regular thing, but I understand the need for bigger sales on a flagship title.
 
JUSTICE LEAGUE: CRY FOR JUSTICE 1 (of 6) – I really didn’t want to like this. As pointed out by someone – somewhere – on the Internet (I can’t remember where I saw it), DC has a tendency to NOT understand what makes the JLA so cool. They go through the motions repeatedly having the big guns team up, then bring in the second stringers, then eliminate the big guns to better focus on the second stringers until sales eventually fall enough to bring in the big guns again and declare the new JLA to be permanent until the start bringing in the B-listers again. I’ve seen it happen more times than I can count. So this issue, with a pretty laughable justification for existence, sees Green Lantern and Green Arrow leave the JLA to look for, and deal, some of their own brand of “Justice” with a team made up of some pretty unlikely characters. Congorilla and Mikaal,the blue alien version of Starman, being the two unlikeliest. Not to even mention that these characters literally crying for “justice” are more or less looking for revenge and not justice. One presumes the differences will be explored? One hopes? Eh. But for all its’ failing – clunky dialogue and all – it was beautifully illustrated and it actually kinda worked for me. Maybe I was just blinded by the pretty pretty art? OKAY.
 
BATMAN AND ROBIN 2 – I would have a problem with the fact that every other page has to remind people that this ain’t Bruce Wayne and [insert secret identity of Robin of choice here], but it is so well done that I just don’t care. Everything from the scenes of Robin ignoring Batman’s orders, Batman and Robin failing, and Batman/Dick Grayson having Alfred have to build up his ego after a battle – all hit you over the head like an aluminum baseball bat and make the book more fun than it has been in years. FANBOY FUN!!
 
SECRET SIX 11 – Jesus! Just how many times can these people turn on each other? FANBOY FUN!
 
GREEN LANTERN CORPS 38 – Last week I complained, in my reply to a blog comment, how the GLC book has been increasingly better than the main GL book. This issue not only has more jaw dropping moments than the main GL book, but it really serves as a prologue to the Blackest Night event. Which means we are finally going to see some zombie superheroes in the DCU. Woo-Hoo!!! FANBOY FUN!!! But seriously – you should get this just to see what happens between Guy Gardner, Kyle Rayner, the Guardians and the Alpha Lanterns.
 
AGENTS OF ATLAS 7 – I loved this issue, but I’m still a little unclear if Namora stayed in Atlantis with Namor. GOOD STUFF.
 
WAR OF KINGS 5 (of 6) – Oh, Holy Crap! Truly this book has been a roller-coaster ride of double crossings and cliffhanger endings. If you really wanted a nice lead-in to get you pumped for Blackest Night – you could do worse than picking this mini-series/event up. Cosmic space opera worthy of Star Wars and political maneuverings worthy of Battlestar Galactica. Just a great fun escapist read. FANBOY FUN!!
 
CAPTAIN AMERICA: REBORN 1 – Okay – so I take your word for it, Marvel Comics, that Ed Brubaker has been planning this since before Capt. America was killed after the Civil War event. After all, the seeds were all planted and you could follow the clues along to their logical conclusion, i.e. this mini-series. Got it. This has been a long time coming. Cool. But did you have to borrow so liberally from LOST? I really liked this, but still…  Was it not enough when you [Marvel] stole the whole “They have a plan” and “God” angles from BSG for Secret War? I would probably be angrier if this weren’t drawn by Brian Hitch. BUENO EXCELLENTE!!! 90% of that rating is for Hitch’s art alone.