War Stories, New comics

New comics!

Batman: Killing Time 1

Tom King starts this six-issue mini with a heist starring Riddler, Catwoman, Killer Croc, and Penguin.  This takes place during Year Two.  It’s great to see David Marquez on art again.  A nice start to what looks to be a straightforward story for once.

What an entrance!

Dark Knights of Steel 5

Wow, did not see that coming - Neither the backstab (to the chest) or the save at the end.  Everything is still set up, but Tom Taylor’s doing a nice job of keeping it interesting.

Magic Order 2 5

It all hits the fan as the good guys get the crap kicked out of them.  It’s too bad the preview cover of the final issue gives away how they get out of it.

War Stories 16-18

I learn about the existence of the gunboats that protected the English Channel during WWII.  Some neat tidbits on the information side, but the story is as generic as the rest of this series so far.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Nice

War Stories 19-22

Ennis gets it act together for the last two arcs.  “Vampire Squadron” is a nice improvement in quality, telling a story about the pilots that protected England at night.  The humor is what sets this one apart from the others, primarily in the form of a Polish gunner who gets over his anti-Semitism really quickly when he’s paired with a Jewish pilot.  

Is it horrible that I laughed every time he said "big Jew chum"?

Plus, the saucy women crack me up.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Pretty good

War Stories 23-26

For all the gore and twisted mindfuckery Ennis can bring to his stories, he’s still a romantic at his very core.  And he can do it very well.  In the hands of a lesser writer, this story would be nothing but sentimental schmaltz.  But the happy ending totally works here.  Perhaps it’s because it’s so unexpected.  The twists I expected never came to pass: The Italian pilot didn’t die, neither did the narrator.  Perhaps I should have guessed the identity of the girlfriend, but Ennis had written so many soldier hookups that I didn’t think anything of it. 

In any case, this is the rare series that ends stronger than it started.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Good