Wonder Woman, Batman minis, New comics

New comics!

Tales of the Human Target 1

A lame fill-in where Fire, Booster Gold, and Guy Gardner tell their separate tales of how they ruined a Human Target case.  Superhero incompetence write large, rarely a fun thing to read about.

Captain Marvel 41

Carol returns to Earth, somewhat makes up with the Enchantress, and Binary takes to the stars to find herself.  Not bad, but the lack of anything standout is really making me question the continued purchase of this title.

Iron Cat 4

Same thing w/ Jed MacKay’s “ongoing.”  Fun, but not really memorable.  I’ll probably finish out this storyline, then reevaluate.

DCeased: War of the Undead Gods 2

At least Tom Taylor still has it together.  Green and Yellow Lanterns face off against Darkseid and the other New Gods.  Long story short, Sinestro dies and Darkseid has his yellow right now.  Ruh-roh.

Fables 155

It’s five issues in, and Bill Willingham is still doing setup.  It’s very Tom King, but not as effective.  Completionist me can’t bring myself to stop buying this, but I’m really not enjoying myself with this.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Fine

Future State: Wonder Woman 1-2

Joelle Jones’ art isn’t enough to save an unlikable character and a nothing story.  I’d cut this if there wasn’t a chance this could increase in value.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: No

Rating: Stupid

Batman/Catwoman 1-12

Tom King shuffles Batman/Catwoman stories across four different timelines in an effort to hide the fact that he doesn’t have much of anything to share with the reader.

Plus, Liam Sharp fills in for three issues in the middle, a complete tonal shift that wrecks the fact that at least the series had Clay Mann’s art going for it.

WTF is Sharp doing with those lips?  This is poor Sienkiewicz or Janson.

Yes, those are Joker's body parts decorating the tree.

Back to Mann doing cool looking stuff.

I was all excited to see what King would do with the return of Andrea Beaumont (for the first time since Mask of the Phantasm?).  He wastes it with this muddle of a story involving her adopted son, the Joker, a faked suicide, and a happy ending that isn’t earned at all.

Also a complete fail is the wedding (at last!) of Bruce and Selina.  It’s tacked on to the end of the whole thing, coming out of nowhere and bringing things to an abrupt end.  After spending so much time on their romance, King completely bungles their happy ending.  He’s proven himself to be way more adept at handling their story, it’s a shame to see him end it on this note.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Didn’t suck

Batman/Catwoman Special 1

Case in point; this issue really gets to the heart of what makes the Bruce/Selina relationship sing.  Original review. 

It’s super sweet and sad.  Selina dying alone in an alley - eight months later and I still don’t know how I feel about it.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Really good

Batman: The Detective 1-6

The concept is cool; Someone’s out killing everyone who Batman’s saved over the years.  The following five issues don’t live up to the initial premise.  I can’t recall a single “Bruce Wayne training to become Batman” story that’s really worked for me, and this adventure w/ Henri Ducard continues that streak.  

Batman: Killing Time 1-6

I was so tempted to re-edit this so that I could read it chronologically from start to finish.  With its rigorous adherence to timestamps, it’s screaming to get reorganized like that.  Instead, as I read it through as Tom King intended, I realized that it wasn’t necessary.  The storytelling is clear and impeccably executed.  I guess I was negatively influenced by the mess that was Batman/Catwoman.  (Maybe that’s the one that needs re-editing…)  

So I’m of two minds about this story.  On the one hand, there’s stunning David Marquez art, excellent action, and a brilliant new villain in The Help.

Heh.

Very Inigo/Westley.

On the other, the whole thing revolves around a stupid MacGuffin.  Why anyone would believe that possessing this “Eye of God” will let them rule the world defies comprehension.  Certainly there’s no reason why the FBI would want it.  It doesn’t help that King rubs it in our faces, saying that absolutely none of it matters at all.  

It’s trying to be clever, but it comes off as insulting.  Still, it’s awfully well done.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Good