Batman: Gotham After Midnight #8 - DC

This book is kind of shaping up like one of those Agatha Christie novels. Every-time we have a suspicion of who we think Midnight might be . . they turn up dead. The issue starts out looking into the cops autopsy, Detective Barry Lucas. Batman seems to have found something, but we don't know what that is yet. However, it seems to be important enough that he's gone to Arkham and broken in to get a sample of the Joker's blood. In the meantime, Batman seems to be getting cozy with Lucas' partner, Clarkson. I'm not sure what that's all about. I could see if Bruce was trying to woo her, but . . she seems more attracted to Batman. Maybe she just likes them dangerous. It's all moot though because Midnight ends up killing her at the end of this issue. However, it seems like he draws Batman out on purpose. It seems like he wants to make sure that he sees it when he does it. Is that to try to tear him down because he knows that he's falling for her? Or, is there something more sinister going on. Could Midnight be Clarkson? We don't know because after seeing Midnight kill her . . the apartment is blown up. That kind of seems like overkill. Plus, Midnight's never done that before. During this issue in Batman's conversations with Gordon he has come to the conclusion that Midnight is someone within the force. So that opens up a whole new list of suspects. Plus, I'm not sure what the signifigance is, but Catwoman seems to be following Batman and she seems to be pretty upset about his relationship with Clarkson. Jealousy? Perhaps. It's an interesting book. I'm glad that Kelley Jones is doing the art. It just wouldn't be the same otherwise. Steve Niles is trying to be obtuse and misdirect us here. But, I think I have it figured out. I'll just have to wait and see if the final issues play out like I think they will.

Wonder Woman #27 - DC

First of all, I'd like to say that Gail Simone is a fantastic writer. I first encountered her scripts over at Marvel. I think the book was called Soldier-X. But I may be wrong about that title. Anyways, shortly after she came over to DC. In that time I've loved everything that she's done. I was thrilled with her stuff on Birds of Prey. But, I think her work on Wonder Woman is her best to date. These are some fantastic stories and I simply love what she's doing to these characters. Now, add the that the thrilling artwork of Aaron Lopresti . . and we've got a hell of a book here. We know that last issue Genocide took out Wonder Woman. This issue we find out that she's gone to Dr Minerva, and the Crime Doctor, with Diana's lasso . . that she took when she beat her down. What we didn't know is that there's a secret to the lasso that Wonder Woman has never revealed to anyone. We don't know yet what that is, but . . when Genocide goes to the psycho doctors she asks them . . no, tells them . . "Make it part of me!" Later when she's at the DMA, basically taking down the whole facility, a small group from the JLA show up . . Black Canary, Vixen, John Stewart, Firestorm and Red Tornado. They attempt to fight her, but during the fight they notice . . "Good lord. Wonder Woman's lasso! It 's in it's flesh. It's wrapped around it's bones!" The other part of this story that I really like is how Gail is trying to put the pieces of the Gods of Olympus back together. They've gone through hell, literally, at the hands of Darkseid and now Zeus is trying to make amends for leaving their followers hanging. All the Amazons that were scattered to the wind . . put out there in the real world, losing there memories? Zeus gives them all their memories back, and . . a path back to Paradise Island. And he gives one final gift to Hippolyta. "I offer you all the peace of the grave, Queen. It is my final gift to you." But, with all of her daughters returning, is that a gift that she's going to be willing to accept? I've loved this book through all of it's creative . . and title . . changes. George Perez, Phil Jimenez, Terry Dodson, Adam Hughes . . just to name a few . . have all contributed significantly to the history of this character. But right now? Right now I feel that this books in the best place it's been for quite a while. This book is one of my favorites right now. And for good reason.

Batman #683 - DC

Really, my only complaint about this issue is that I wish I would've read it before Final Crisis #5. But I think it was just a little thing with the timing of the issues. In the last issue of Batman we learned that these 2 minions of Darkseids, Mokkari and Simyan, had Batman and were attempting to use his knowledge and memories to train an army of cloned soldiers. Then in Final Crisis #5, Mokkari is apologizing to Darkseid that their attempt, or experiment, had failed. And that through Batman's efforts their army was basically destroyed. Which is what I figured was going to happen. Then, this issue comes out . . and we get the actual story of what Batman did and how. I think it would've read better to read this issue before Final Crisis #5, but . . I'm sure they didn't want to hold that issue up just because of this. It's really not that big of a deal. I mean, I'm still thrilled with all of this work that Grant Morrison is producing for DC and especially for Batman. With the sheer volume of work that he's doing, I'm sure there's going to be a few glitches along the way. It's inevitable. Anyways, this issue we see that as Batman's going along through these false memories, he begins to question their integrity and continuity. Lump, this gelatinous mass that looks kind of like Clay-Face, is the conduit through which Mokkari is manipulating Batman's psyche. He's monitoring Batman's dreams and memories by appearing in them as Alfred. Which is brilliant on Lump's part . . it gives him first-hand and intimate knowledge into the scenes that are unfolding. But, at the same time, it's his undoing. During the course of this, Alfred/Lump has talked to and interacted with Batman about things that the real Alfred couldn't have possibly known. And that's what trips him up. When Batman finally realizes that something is amiss, he confronts Lump and makes him show himself. "How can you fight me? I am life without form . . I have no nerves. I feel no pain. Your enemies have operatives and technology beyond your capacity. They're stealing your DNA. Your memories. To imprint unstoppable soldiers. Driven by your trauma." And in that, I think . . Lump finally reveals to much. "Then tell them they can have it. You can have it, too. If you can bear it all at once. What . . do . . you . . deserve?" And that's when everything starts to fall apart. The experiences and traumas that Bruce has endured are simply to much for the normal, if you can call any of this normal . . . for the normal being to encounter or accept. And in the trauma that Lump endures . . I think he actually comes over to Batman's side and tries to help him. "There are more memories left to process. Ready?" And that's when Lumps physical form begins to shake and quiver. "Interesting. The chemicals I kept thinking about . . are sedatives. I can taste them. I'm restrained somewhere. Unconscious. I need you to get me out. I need your help. If I die, we both die. If I live, you live on in my memory, Lump. You know me now as well as anyone. I'll find the men who killed you. Need a jolt to get you moving?" That's when he gives Lump some of his worst memories. Lump starts rampaging through the facility, and of course Mokkari and Simyan take him down. But not before he and Batman have dealt a devastating blow to their little enterprise here. Just as Batman had created the alternate identity within his own mind, Batman of Zurr-en-rahh, to pull himself out of the insanity during RIP, he also proves her that it's impossible to manipulate the mind of someone who has prepared for every eventuality, including someone trying to manipulate his memories. Now the question once again is . . what's happened to the Batman? Did he fall when Mokkari's 'factory' came down around his ears? Or is he laying in the rubble, somewhere, waiting for the drugs to where off and he becomes strong enough to dig his way out? Or, are these last 2 harrowing escapes going to prove to much for even Batman's body to endure? I don't know. But I thought this was a fantastic issue. I especially liked Lee Garbett's pencils. Trevor Scott did the inks, and I think their styles meshed perfectly. You can see the amazing Alex Ross cover pictured here. But there's also a very nice Tony Daniel cover. There's some exciting stuff going on here, and I can't wait to see where we go now.

Trinity #30 - DC

This issue we find out the background of these people that our little group . . the one that Alfred brought together, have come upon in their search for the people that seem to be missing from their lives. I don't think they know that it's the Trinity yet, but . . they do seem to remember that there was once someone that they looked up to. Their story starts basically with the creation of the universe, but it's skewed, I think, in Krona's favor. It seem that Krona is the god that they end up worshiping. Until he escapes from the egg, at which time he abandons them. They feel lost and betrayed. In fact they had no more purpose so they felt it would just be best to end themselves. But then they come upon what looks to be the spirits of Wonder Woman, Superman and Batman . . . Hope, Justice and Wonder. Their subjugation by Krona was so bereft of hope, and love, and really any kind of common decency and respect that when they see the visage of these new 'gods', the likes of which they'd never seen before, they're relieved and uplifted. And given new hope. Now we'll just have to see next issue if they can find them. Meanwhile all the heroes have been gathered together to bring La Fey the army that she thinks she needs. Luckily though, the Atom has tagged along for the ride somewhere along the way, so he sends everything he sees back to Brainwave at the JSI headquarters. So now, Carter Hall realizes that everything that he found in the scroll that he had left for himself was the truth. He knows what's been done to the world . . why La Fey did it . . and what she plans to do still. Now he just has to figure out what his next step is going to be. That's when Charity shows up offering some assistance. We're getting closer and closer to the end of this series. I'm just wondering what's going to trip our Evil Trinity up along the way. I think it's going to be the influence that our Trinity has over the people that believe in them. Even with La Fey erasing them from existence . . there's still people that believe. And the more that are reminded, and remember . . I think the stronger their spirits, or essence will become. I think that La Fey has seriously underestimated the task that she's attempted to embark upon here . . . and the powers that she's trying to replace. Another fantastic job by Kurt Busiek, Mark Bagley, Fabian Nicieza and Mike Norton. Thanks for another great issue.

Moon Knight #25 - Marvel

This appears to be the final chapter in the Death of Marc Spector. And I'll tell ya', by the end of the book . . . Marc Spector is definitely dead. But . . that's not to say the Moon Knight is. After all the embarrassment Moon Knight has brought to . . . well, anybody that's come after him, the government decides to send Norman Osborne's little group, the Thunderbolts, after him. But they don't fare much better. So now Norman's down to his secret weapon . . Bullseye. The fight between Bullseye and Moon Knight is fantastic. Both of them have some great lines. But in the end, Moon Knight plays Bullseye like a fiddle and pulls him into one of his hideouts just like he wants. It's under the river and the finale of the fight is when Bullseye thinks he's got the drop on Moon Knight, but actually is a 'scarecrow' type thing that Marc has rigged up and is wrapped in a bomb. "You're right, I can't beat you . . but, I can take you out with me". And with that he blows up his whole complex. There's a big explosion on the river, and Bullseye seems to make it out by the skin of his teeth. Of course in all the rubble they can't find Marc. Frenchie and Marlene are talking, at the end of the story, and Frenchie tells her . . . "You know they'd never stop looking for him. In order for him to live, Marc Spector had to die. Maybe he was right . . maybe it was the only way. Once he mad the choice, he'd have to embrace it completely. Marc Spector is dead. But remember . . . Jake Lockley's not." I thought Mike Benson did a great job with this story. I'm really interested to see what he's going to do with the character now. Also Mark Texeira and Javier Saltares have once again turned in a terrific artistic job. I really like this issue a lot, and I'm looking forward to finding out what the future has in store for our lead character.

Ghost Rider #30 - Marvel

Johnny Blaze is still . . . well . . Johnny's not really doing much of anything. Other than sulk. Last issue he had an encounter with Danny Ketch and now . . now he seems to have lost all his will to fight. For some reason. So the other 2 Ghost Riders . . Molek and Bai Gu Jing, I think they're from Tibet, but I could be wrong . . those 2 and Sara are still hot on Danny's trail. With Johnny tagging along lacklusterly. Danny takes the power from the Japanese Rider, Yoshio Kannabe, this issue. But he doesn't kill him. I think it's because, as he tells Zadkiel later, he kind of reminds him of himself . . when he was younger. Anyways, after Yoshio there's only 2 more Riders left. So our little group's going to try to get to them before Danny does. Meanwhile Danny is having a conversation with Zadkiel. First of all, let me tell you, this Zadkiel is a real bastard. Really, the only reason he has Danny consolidating all the power, is so that he can take it from him, and then conquer Heaven. That's his whole plan here. He's using Danny as a dupe because somehow he's been able to convince him that what he's doing he's doing to the good of Heaven. Plus he's told him that the Ghost Rider power eventually corrupts it's host. So, by taking their powers, he's actually saving them the burden that will befall them. And if they die in the process then . . so be it. He's probably saved their soul also. And Danny seems to be buying it hook, line & sinker. But Zadkiel doesn't want to take a chance so he's sent the Black Host to accompany him when he goes off to find the final 2. First of all, Johnny can't be out of it. There's just no way. And eventually, you know it's going to come down to Danny vs Johnny. But, by that time, Danny is definitely going to have the advantage in the power department. So, I'm guessing here, that Johnny is somehow going to have to convince him that Zadkiel is lying to him. And that together, maybe they can set things right. And finally get some retribution themselves for everything that Zadkiel has made them endure with this curse. Oh yeah, and at the end there's this Kowalski guy who buys this gun that's supposed to be Johnny's shotgun. It's supposed to shoot hell-fire. When he finally gets it, he says he has a boat to catch, and a Ghost Rider to hunt. I like what Jason Aaron is doing with this story. It's definitely original. I'm also digging this funky look that Tan Eng Huat has brought to this book. I wasn't sure how his style would fit here, but . . he's definitely made it his own. The book is exciting again . . visually as well as the story.

Ultimate Fantastic Four #59 - Marvel

My only real criticism of this book . . and it's not really . . is that there isn't much going on here that has to do with the Ultimatum attack. Yes, the current predicament of Sue's is because of that incident and her burgeoning use of her powers to push the wave back that was engulfing NYC. And yes Dr Molekevik has to be brought in by Ben to try to figure out what wrong with her, now that her powers seem to be giving her some type of feed-back. But . . as far as the actual attack, or whatever Magneto is up to now . . there's no talk of it. But that's ok. There's another Ultimatum book, #2, sitting in my pile that's about 3 or 4 days away, so . . we'll get into it then. Anyways, this issue Ben and the good Dr. use a space shuttle, and some Pym particles, to do a fantastic voyage into Sue's innermost workings. They go to the brain, and the Dr. fixes her. But the big news is that while in her blood-stream their ship is attacked by, what they think at first is anti-bodies, but they turn out to be nanobots. One crashes into the ship, and they kill it. So when they enlarge they bring it out with them. The main reason Sue begins to focus on this is because they look to be Reed's design. Which means Reed put them in there. And if he did that, and now she has to check Ben . . then chances are he also put them into Johnny. If he did that then Sue can find out the wavelength that they use to communicate and reverse engineer it to find out where Johnny's at. I thought Joe Pokaski did a fantastic . . no pun intended . . job on this book. He really brought a lot of personality into these characters. He does a couple of flash-backs on Sue and Ben, and they're all pretty heartfelt. I thought Tyler Kirkham art was also pretty good. It wasn't perfect but, he had 3 different inkers on this issue, so I'm not exactly sure who did what. All I know is that some panels look better than others. I'm guessing this can be attributed to one of the 3 inkers. I really enjoy reading the Fantastic Four . . both titles. I think this one is unique because of their younger perspective on things. It'll be interesting to see what effects the Ultimatum has on this book.

New Exiles #16 - Marvel

This book is one of my favorites because . . there are just some great characters here. This new Kitty Pryde . . the way she can switch into other dimensional representations of herself . . I just think it's an incredibly unique, and original, perspective on her character. Plus, given her powers, it really makes perfect sense. She comes from a world where she's been fighting for survival her whole life. She's had a lot of practice. So, she's like a Wolverine level combatant. In fact last issue . . she took Wolverine out . . actually, James. He was Madame HYDRA's . . . Susan Storm . . bodyguard, consort, whatever. So she's especially pissed at Kitty. Kitty's getting a little help from Mystiq. But it's Gambit, Namor, who gives her a little distraction and she catches Susan off guard. As she phases through her she removes what looks to be . . . her aorta. But everybody is fighting this issue. Susan and Kitty are going at it. Also Lilandra and Nerimani are going at it . . over the entitlement to the Shi'ar throne. Morph is mixed up in that little tempest. And Rogue is battling . . well, I don't really know what her name is. But she's fighting up at the Iron Mountain. She gets help from one of the aliens that lives there . . one of the Sons of Iron, and somehow loses her costume in the process. So she borrows his armor. When she flies away she looks like War-Machine. There's still 2 more issues in this story-line so next issue we should be able to find out what Sabretooth and Psylocke have been up to. The lead story was done by Chris Claremont and Tim Seeley. Personally, I think Tim's doing a great job. In the backup, we see that Sage is still fighting for control of her mind. She's been in a struggle with Diana Fox, her other identity, ever since that caper with Albion. But now, thanks to Roma downloading the entirety of the Omniverse into her mind, she's also fighting it's first protector, Roma's father, Merlyn. It looks like Merlyn, as the common enemy, may be the factor that brings her 2 personalities back together. I hope so, so we can get past this. Sage is a great character, but . . she's been stuck in her head the last couple of months. The art on this part was done by Vincenc Villagrasa. I liked Tim's work better. Anyways, this is a great book. If you aren't reading it . . you should.

the Amazing Spider-man #581 - Marvel

This issue actually focuses mainly on Peter's supporting cast. Yippee! That's exactly what I've been complaining about the last few issues. First of all, Peter is trying to figure out . . still . . this whole thing about the Spider-tracer killer. Of course whomever it is sets him up by leaving another dead body, but . . this time . . he activates the tracer. Of course Spidey tunes in to it and then goes to see what's going on. He sees the body and goes down to investigate. But as the does . . the real perpetrator has called in an anonymous tip saying that Spidey is dumping a body right now. So when he goes down in the alley to get his tracer, the cops come in almost immediately. "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! It's like I was bitten by a radioactive moron! Of all the . . . 'Wait. This time he left it on. Why would he do that?' Derrrr. From now on they should just put up a sign: 'This way to get framed.' And I'd go. 'Cause I'm the stupidest person in Stupidtown." Anyways, from there Peter's roped into a trip to Jersey with Harry. He says he wants him to tag along because he's got to deal with Liz, and little Normie, and they both like Peter a lot. It'll take some of the pressure off of him. We also see Lily and Carlie again this issue. He tries to ask Carlie out but she shoots him down. Which makes Vin happy. Of course nothing happens the way it's supposed to. Harry actually has to try to sort out the whole thing with his revival. When he died Liz got a pretty good stipend which she used for the house and her brother's treatments. Liz's brother Mark looks like a molten man or something. Liz has him hooked up to some special equipment in the house. However, when he hears that Harry's there, he breaks out because he wants to kill him. Or I should say, he wants him to die . . and stay dead. Dan Slott writes this one, and I'm glad that he kept the focus more on those around Spidey than necessarily on him alone. In fact, after the 4th page we don't see Peter in costume the whole rest of the book. Don't get me wrong. I think Peter/Spider-man is a fantastic character. But, I also think it's his eclectic supporting cast that helps to make him and his life so interesting. They help to get the reader bought in to the character. I thought this was one of the best issues of the last 12 that I've read. And it wasn't just because of Mike McKone's art. Although . . that didn't hurt.

Avengers: the Initiative #19 - Marvel

I really like this book. I think Dan Slott and Christos Gage are doing a good job with these stories. And this book has consistently had pretty decent art. This issue Harvey Tolibao and Bong Dazo do the pencils. It's actually very impressive throughout the whole issue. I especially liked the pages where we got introduced to the different teams around the country. So, with that in mind, I just want to say that whatever follows . . . is said out of love for this book. Ok? Anyways, the first few pages were cool. I was getting in to it. And then . . . it just seemed like we were all over the place trying to cram half a dozen different books into this one title. It was a complete mish-mash of stuff. I know they were trying to show us all of the various Initiative teams around the country, but . . . they could've just paraphrased the action and kept to the main story. Each page, showing the various teams, really didn't contribute anything substantial to the overall story-line. We just get a picture of all of the various characters, and then a bunch of word-balloons when they're all yelling at each other because they're trying to figure out who the Skrull is. And the worst one? The Great Lakes Initiative. I think people from Detroit . . or Wisconsin . . or wherever . . would start to be pissed that everytime there's a group of heroes that gather in their part of the country . . they're a bunch of complete idiots. Well . . except for X-Factor. They seem to be the exception. And all of it comes down to the Kill-Krew and that one member of the Initiative that's a Skrull, but he wants to protect the Earth. I forget his name. Anyways, he's fighting with the rest of them, killing Skrulls . . . he even follows YellowJacket to try to kill him because he's the only one that knows that he's also a Skrull. He uses his Freedom Ring to adjust his powers so he can keep up. When he does . . . he take him down like Bambi on the first day of deer season. After he takes down YellowJacket he turns around to the praise of his teammates, and then . . . 3D man shoots him in the head. "What? Skrull." And then, similar to M-Day, he lays on the ground dying and I think between his will-power and his freedom ring, he starts to make a wish. " . . not fair . . . it was all so perfect . . I . . I wish . . I wish . . I wish it could've ended differently . . ." And I think it will. It's the end of the book, but in the last 3 panels you see something happening. They're calling it V-S Day. I like the way it ended. And, I liked the way it started. But everything in the middle . . . you could've lobotomized the middle of this book and it wouldn't have made a bit of difference. But, I'm not blaming any of the creative talent on this book. I think they were stuck with whatever Brian Bendis had drafted when he put together the plans for this mega-event. And they were probably stuck with certain stuff they had to put into this book so that everything would fit in with the overall plan that Brian had devised. So, if I just read the first 2 pages, and then the last 10 . . . I enjoy the book a whole lot better. Unfortunately, there's only a couple issues left of this book. I've enjoyed this book. I liked the concept. And I thought there were a lot of creative ideas presented here. However, when everything got swamped down with this Secret Invasion crap . . . things started spiraling out of control. I think the reason this book is ending is because now . . after all the Secret Invasion stuff . . this book isn't the same as when it started. It can't be. And to me, that's a shame. There was a lot of potential here.

X-Men: Legacy #219 - Marvel

Jagannatha. That's what the Juggernaut should really be called. If you went according to the ancient folk-lore. At least that's what Charles tells him. But I really don't think Cain gives a crap. This whole issue is basically a face-off between Charles and Cain. Charles recently tried to get into Cain's mind. I'm guessing to try to sort out some of the memories he has with him, from the past. But who knows. It could've been for any reason. But with his helmet and power of Cyttorak, he could feel him coming. And he's not very happy about it. We get a little rehashing of some of their history together in Vietnam. And it sounds like, basically, Charles want to offer his hand in friendship, and try to talk Cain into walking with the angels again. But Cains not having it. When he stepped away from the path of Cyttorak for a short while . . that's when he started to be at his weakest. He really doesn't like that feeling. In order to get back to full power he had to fully embrace Cyttorak and be the person he feels he was meant to be. Which is fine by me because I never really bought him as a good guy anyways. Anyways, long story short, Cain thinks he's got Charles under his thumb because he's got this bar full of hostages around him. Eventually he kills Charles, and the rest of the X-Men and goes on with his life of skulduggery. Until he finds out that the whole thing is in his head. "The real Cain Marko is the one lying in that bed. Don't you understand? I came to you in your sleep. All of this, from the bar right through to the present moment, happened only in mindscape. I can't face you, because . . as we've established . . you'd kill me. And a great many other people along the way. You're right Cain, redemption isn't always possible. But understanding is. I understand you better now, and I know you've chose the path you walk. For your own sake . . don't stray onto mine." That threat was pretty concise and to the point. But you know Cain. It's just going to piss him off. I thought this was an interesting in-between issue. Mike Carey, I think, has been doing a pretty impressive job on this book. Phil Briones fills in on the pencils this issue. They're ok. They show a lot of promise. I think the guy just needs some more work. I like that this title is focusing on Charles, and trying to piece together all the various parts of his past and history. We know most of it, but . . there's always a new way to look at anything. I think we're starting to see a different side of Charles also. I can't wait to see what the future . . or the past . . holds.

Uncanny X-Men #505 - Marvel

This issue just had like an odd feeling to it for some reason. I really can't explain it . . something just felt off. Anyways, first of all, there's this video that has come to light about the massacre of the children in Cooperstown. We know that the Purifiers were there, but when you see the video, they're just standing around while this mutant that's on fire seems to be jumping all over the place. Maybe it's Sunfire. I'm not sure. But I guess that would make sense since the Marauders where there also. Obviously this is a media biased video because the Humanity Now Coalition is using it to blame the whole thing on the mutants. Simon Trask tosses around stuff like the Cooperstown Victims for Truth, or the Mother's of Cooperstown activist group, or even the blog Purity of Knowledge. Like I said, it's all media biased and their using it to ask states to start promoting legislation on Mutant Reproductive Rights. But the Mayor of San Francisco . . the one that asked the X-Men to come there, says that she refuses to buckle to the media pressure. "I didn't open up my city's doors to mutantkind as a publicity stunt. No one leaves, unless they want to, of course. This is San Francisco. The hated and misunderstood have always had a home here. Let your people know . . . here, you can live and love and make as many damn mutant babies as you like. They will be welcome. Spread the word, in San Francisco mutants will be welcome." Peter has gone to confront the guy from Russia with the tattoos. I don't think he knows what he wants to do, but he remembers this guy threatening their family when he was a child. Basically, his confrontation consists of sitting in the bar where the guy and his goons are. He beats up the body-guards and ends up accepting a job from the guy. We also catch up a bit with Pixie, Armor and X-23, Laura. They're all going to be roomies. Pixie's a little concerned because Laura gets out of the shower and she's got blood all over her towels. She goes to Emma to tell her about it, but her response is . . "Don't worry about it. It's not hers." Also Emma seems to be going through a little bit of something herself. Her and Scott just don't seem as close as usual. At least that's how she sees it, and she's worried. Ororo, of all people, gives her some consolation and advice. "If he's shutting you out, it's because he thinks he's protecting you, saving lives, or both . . . . If you would truly be a queen . . if you would truly be a leader . . . then lead, Emma Frost." And finally Hank and Warren gather up another subject for their little group, Madison Jeffries. "We're putting together a science team tasked with solving the mutant birth crisis. And we need someone good with machinery." Matt Fraction writes it. And, overall I think he does a great job. I don't know. It's just . . to me . . . something just felt a little off. I still enjoyed it. I can't really explain it. I don't know. Terry Dodson did the pencils again this issue. Will we see another issue by Greg Land anytime soon? I doubt it. But Terry's art is awesome, so who cares? As always, a great book, and a fantastic cast of characters.

the Mighty Avengers #20 - Marvel

I really liked this issue. It was touching, and moving. I'm not a huge Lee Weeks fan, but . . I thought the pencils in this issue looked terrific. The look and feel that he gave the book fit the story-line perfectly. I also have to say thanks to Brian Bendis for bringing us such a touching look into Janet and Hanks life, and relationship. Basically, this issue revolves around Janet's funeral. I guess she was killed during the Invasion, but there's no body. I don't know the specifics, because I purposefully skipped that event, but . . . I pretty much get the idea of what's going on now. Anyways, through all of this, Hanks doing a lot of soul-searching. As would anyone in this situation. He also asks to be filled in on everything that happened since he was 'switched out'. And, he's missed a lot. Apparently he was 'switched out' before M-Day. He also missed the Civil War and Caps getting shot. And he missed the Hulk war. But what really upsets him is how his doppelganger, in his body and face, addressed the nation and asked them to accept the inevitability of the success of the Invasion. He had told the world over and over again, "Embrace change". So now . . . that's how the world see's him. Even if in their hearts they know that wasn't him, but a Skrull duplicate . . . it's hard for them to look at his face and not see him telling them that they were defeated. And, except for losing Jan, I really think that's what bothers him the most. He even lashes out at Tony when he gets up during the funeral to say a few words about Jan. "I keep asking myself, what would Janet think of all this? I think she would ask . . . how could you do this? So I'll ask for her . . . how could you do this? I'M ASKING YOU TONY! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS? HOW COULD YOU LET THIS HAPPEN? HOW? Tell me! I really want to know! YOU KILLED CAPTAIN AMERICA, YOU KILLED JANET! BUT THERE YOU ARE! WHO'S NEXT, TONY? Who's . . ." The issue ends with Norman standing in the conference room of Avengers tower . . alone. He's looking out over his city . . . his world. And from here . . we go to Dark Avengers #1. I have to say, I won't be following the Dark Reign story-line . . . unless it crosses over into the books that I normally buy. But . . I will be getting the Dark Avengers. It's by Brian Bendis and Mike Deodato Jr. How could I pass it up?

the Invincible Iron Man #8 - Marvel

This issue really makes you feel sorry for Tony. He really has no idea how to recover from this devastation. He's trying. He's trying to pitch in, and help where he can, but . . between the attacks by Stane, the events of the Invasion and his link to the suit failing, the extremis, he's like a fish floundering out here. Then to top all of that off, Norman Osborne has taken over as the Director of SHIELD. Of course that's assuming that SHIELD even exists anymore. I'm sure it will in some capacity, when the dust settles, but . . it probably won't be the same. Osborne also kicks out Maria Hill. Well . . not kick out, but . . he did fire them. So how will Tony recover? Well, it looks like he'll start over from scratch . . as I think he's done a couple of times before. And in starting over, all he's got by his side is Pepper Potts and Maria Hill. Not a very auspicious beginning, but . . he did manage to upgrade Pepper while he still had a chance. So I'm thinking she's going to be his ace in the hole. And, when Norman tries to access the Superhuman Registration database, he finds out that it's been rigged with a computer virus that takes down all of the HAMMER computers. It was childish of Tony, but . . he couldn't resist. However, now . . . Norman's declared war. I really like this series. I always thought that Tony/Iron Man was an interesting character but I never followed it religiously. I picked up some issue here and there. When I had a chance. Plus he's been with the Avengers pretty consistently. But when this series launched, I saw it as a chance to get in on the action. Plus I'm a huge fan of Salvador Larroca's. I think he's a terrific talent, and he hasn't disappointed me yet. But, all props go to Matt Fraction for writing some incredible story-lines in this book so far. I think he's done a fantastic job, and we're only on issue #8. I can't wait to see what he has in store for us in the future. I'm glad I took a chance and picked up this series.

X-Factor #38 - Marvel

Really, my only complaint about this issue . . come on, I know you see this coming . . . wait for it . . . Larry Stroman did the pencils on the first 4 pages. Aarrgghh! Why? Nelson does the art for the rest of the book. Why couldn't he do the first 4 pages. I almost didn't read it. In the Marvel books, I tend not to read the recap page in the front. So I don't always see the credits until after I read it. I picked up this book, going through the first couple of pages and . . . I almost put it down and refused to read it. I just didn't want to deal with this vague ambiguous art of Larry's. Sometimes I'm not sure which character is which because I can't tell them apart. Honestly, though . . I have nothing against Larry. I have other, older, books of his that I love. The guy has talent. My frustration comes from the fact that I dig these characters so much. I think this is a fantastic group. Hell, I even like Val Cooper. No my frustration comes from the fact that we haven't had a regular artist on this series since it started. They haven't all been bad, but . . I think a book has to develop a certain feel to it. They have to get the reader bought in to the characters. The stories help with that tremendously, but . . the art also helps to create that feel. I don't feel that some artists are necessarily better or worse than others, but . . some artist just don't fit right. And I know that Larry did a great run on this book a long time ago. But right now . . with the current group and direction . . right now, it just doesn't feel like he fits. I know that's my problem. And I know that it's probably just all in my head. But . . that's how I feel. As a reader of my blog, I know that you won't always agree with what I have to say. That's ok. I just want you to know that I won't lie, and I won't pull my punches. And, anything I say is not a personal attack on anybody. I don't know any of these people personally, so who am I to judge them? Who am I to judge anybody? I'm just giving you my opinion. Take it or leave it. Anyways, enough of the soapbox . . . overall, I really enjoyed this story. I mean you know ahead of time that Jamie's group is going to return with Darwin. No matter what happens. I thought it was kind of neat though how he came to the resolution this issue. He cut away all of the bull-crap and just talked to the guy . . man to man. "In the end, sometimes the smart thing is to bypass bad habits and learned behavior. There are entire countries where fighting is the default position. If you're willing to put aside that mindset . . . it's amazing how much you can accomplish with minimal muss and fuss." I also thought it was admirable how Rictor was willing to lay his life on the line to protect Theresa. Very noble. I am wondering though what's going to happen to Val. Her and Theresa are on their way to the hospital. Val's water broke, and Theresa got shot. I think Peter David does a great job with this book. He's brought together a great group of characters and he's really made them interesting. And really . . it's my love for these characters that my frustration comes from. They have a lot of potential and I'd just like to see that realized.

Black Terror #2 - Dynamite Entertainment

I'll tell ya, I think Alex Ross and Jim Krueger are doing a fantastic job with this series. They just do an incredible job of illustrating the frustration the the Black Terror is going through right now. To tell you the truth, when I was reading it, it was hard for me not to compare the shape that our world's in right now . . as compared to the world that the Black Terror is experiencing. I could really empathize with how defeating and confusing this experience is to him. Especially . . . can you imagine? . . . not seeing the gradual change in the world over the last few decades? And then, when he's brought out of the urn, as compared to when he was put in . . in the 40's . . what a difference it would be having to open your eyes to the world of 2009? In the beginning, the Black Terror goes to the Lincoln memorial and begins talking to it . . "I've tried hard to remind myself of what I was. Back when I only wanted to serve this country. When the power was new. And the enemy was half a world away. But the enemy is here now. Right here. A fellow citizen." The first couple of pages were really moving to me. Then, compounding on this philosophical frustration, he's also got to deal with the uncertainty of knowing what happened to his comrade, Tim. When they went off to war together, he swore that he'd protect the young man with his dying breath, but . . it's hard to protect someone when you don't even know for sure where they're at. Long story short, he makes his way into the White House . . he wants to confront the President about Tim, but then . .he finds himself taken down by some more of his comrades, the Patriots. Apparently they're working for the government now. They're ready to take him into custody for sedition, attempted murder, and treason. This is a fine pickle he's gotten himself in to. Mike Lilly is doing a tremendous job with the pencils on this book. I really love the whole creative feel of this book. I can't wait to see what happens next.

the X Files #2 - WildStorm

This was an ok issue. The best part about it, as with the episodes in the original series, was the ending. It always ends differently than what you expected, but . . after seeing it, you think 'Oh yeah! Of course! That makes sense.' But somehow they get you thinking in a different direction through the story. I think Frank Spotnitz does a good job with his stories. And, I think Brian Denham does a good job of giving this book almost the exact same feel as the TV series. He really draws these characters spot-on. However, as much as I loved the TV series, I have to stick with my hypothesis that this series . . these characters . . are just to dated. Like I said the last time, what they did here was cutting edge . . an unadulterated psychological thriller. It pushed what was allowed on TV, and the story-lines to the limit. However, in the time since . . 10 years or so . . things have been pushed even farther. There's a new edge and unfortunately these stories no longer come near it. I mean, watch an episode of Fringe, or 11th Hour, or even Criminal Minds . . and then come back and watch an episode of the X-Files. First of all, it's immediately apparent how dated the series is, and secondly . . the story-lines just don't really hold up anymore. Yes they're still good, and interesting, but . . they're just not as exciting as I remember them. This issue, and last, we're dealing with a pharmacutical company that appears to be making some kind of extremely powerful hallucinogen. They dose Mulder, but they get him treated in time. The 2 scientists for the company? Not so lucky. And the person they think is going to help them by testifying in the Senate appropriations meeting ends up dead. So Mulder says he'll testify, because he's all about taking down the 'big guy'. But it ends up . . he played right into their hands. "They believed me Scully. That's the problem. They want this weapon, Scully. Everything I said . . just proved to them it really works." Like I said, it was interesting, but . . yippee. By the way, this is a 6 issue series. I just found that out. It's billed as 5 issues, but . . since there's an issue #0 . . that's 6. I just wanted to get it straight.

StormWatch: Post Earth Division #17 - WildStorm

Apparently the Warhol virus is breaking out all over the place. Jackson King has a team down in Australia but they get attacked by some of the infected shortly before they leave. It doesn't seem as if they actually know what the Warhol virus is. Anyways, after returning, all of the survivors are isolated so they can be decontaminated and watched for a short period of time. It ends up that 3 of them are infected. And then the rest of the issue is spent with them trying to contain it. I enjoy Ian Edginton's writing, and I think Leandro Fernandez is getting more comfortable with these characters every issue. But, I have to admit, I have a harder time getting in to this book than I do the Authority or WildCATS. I'm not sure what it is. I'm just not as interested in what's going on here. And that's kind of how I felt about the old StormWatch book. Not the PHD series. That series I actually liked a lot better than this one. But the original StormWatch. It just didn't hold my interest all that well, and as a reader I never really got bought into the characters. Anyways, that's how I'm kind of feeling about this book now. The story is interesting, but . . when I'm done reading it, I just kind of have a 'who cares?' type of feeling. This issue is leading up to their interaction with the Authority . . the groups are starting to realize that they all need to work together if they're to have any hope of making some progress here. But this group . . . SkyWatch is set, I assume, in geosynchronous orbit around the Earth . . because of all the time most of these people have spent there . . I feel that they almost feel separated from what's going on in the 'real' world, and the people still living there. I guess that kind of explains how I feel about this book. It's interesting . . but separate. I want to like it. I really do.

Ex Machina #40 - WildStorm

This seemed kind of like a fill-in issue to me. Except . . . it was still done by Tony Harris and Brian K Vaughn. The gist of the story . . . that's them on the cover by the way . . is that this is their meeting with Mayor Hundred to pitch him their idea about the graphic novel for his life. To me the most moving part of the story is when Brian is talking to the Mayor. He's talking about how much he loves NYC. So much so that when his girlfriend moved to California after 9/11 . . he didn't. When the mayor asks him why, he responds that it was because of him and the events that happened on 9/11. So the Mayor asks him where he was. It was really moving, the way he explained it. I could put it in here for you but . . I think it would be better if you picked up the book and read it for yourself. It is, after-all, Brian's own words. I wonder if it hard to write yourself in the third person like that. Especially considering that he's writing a pitch for a story . . a meeting . . that never really happened. But I'm sure he had a lot of personal reference to draw from. Anyways, as they're sitting there waiting, Tony begins to sketch. He says he's drawing the 2 of them sitting in the waiting room. If they get the project, he wants to incorporate them into the first scene. Brian's reply? "I'm not big into the whole Grant Morrison 'meta' thing. Seeing creators in a book kinda takes me out of the story, you know. . . ? Don't draw my nose so big." I thought that was fantastic. Anyways, I really liked the book, and I thought it was an interesting diversion to the current story-lines running through it. At the end, we also get a little 2 page teaser by Garth Ennis and Jim Lee. Whodathunkit? Anyways, this book continues to be a masterpiece and I love the work these guys do on it. However, I have heard that they have a definite end-date in mind for this book. I don't know when it is. I hope it's not soon. But I just wanted to pass that along.

Ok! I'm frustrated!

On your dashboard, under blogger buzz, there's a link you can go to to add a widget to your blog called I-Like. It's supposed to be a music widget. So you can add a soundtrack. Hey! What have I been talking about for the last couple of months? This sounds perfect to me. So I go in and start making my play-list. Actually, I was hoping that I could add music from my own computer, but . . . no such luck. You have to pick from the artists and songs that they have in their lists. But that's ok. There's an awful lot of stuff listed and I found something that I like under pretty much every artist that I looked up. Anyways, I put about 12 songs in my play-list. I didn't want to get to ambitious, and . . I wanted to go to the blog to make sure that it worked. Well . . I use a couple different browsers. Sometimes I use FireFox, and sometimes I use Safari. But mostly I just use internet explorer. But that one frustrates me sometimes so I'll just use the other ones out of spite. I guess. Anyways, I couldn't get the music application to play on either FireFox or Safari. FireFox told me I needed some plug-in, and Safari said I didn't have some mime setup. Well, I didn't want to go through all of that so I just went back to my good ol' internet explorer and viewed my blog that way. The good news? It worked. I was able to listen to the tracks. The bad news? Some of them were only 30 seconds or less. Which means if it was a live song . . . you barely got into the music before it cut off. But . . . I was ok with that. A few of the songs were full length so I just thought I'd go back and edit the list and take out the ones that didn't work. Yes it wasn't really my play-list . . I was only listing what would actually play, but . . hey . . at least it's something. It's still music. Right? Well when I went back to I-Like it didn't take me back to my play-list. It wanted to start me out all over again. So I thought, well I better go to my layout and see if I can delete the songs that way. That was a no-go! All you can do from the layout is delete the whole widget. But I thought . . that's ok. I'll just delete it and start over. 2 problems here. First it doesn't want to delete right. It gives you an error message. So it doesn't look like it's deleted even though it says it has been. Secondly, I went to posts and then back to layout and it showed it was gone. However, I rearranged a couple of things to give the play-list a more prominent placement, but now . . . now I can't move anything back. When I go to layout, everything seems to be locked it place. This sucks! All I thought was that I could share a couple of my favorite songs with the people that browse me, but no! It has to be a big ordeal and now I have to go to blogger and ask for help on how to fix my layout. What a pain in the posterior. So, my advice to you, if you look into the blogger buzz regularly, and you see this article . . . turn away! Turn away fast and don't be tempted by thought of creating your own soundtrack. It's not worth it, and now . . . now I've wasted about 45 minutes messing around with it. Just say NO!

Robin #181 - DC

What a fantastic book. Yes Anarky is back . . although he's not the same character. He's now Ulysses Hadrian Armstrong. And yes the whole Batman family is dealing, and reeling, from Batman's recent disappearance, but . . . this book is truly, and solely, all about Tim. Everyone else in this book, including Dick and Alfred, are really just back-up characters to his lead. This book is all about him dealing with what's going on with Bruce . . dealing with what's going on with Gotham . . and making the decisions to do and become what is necessary to take care of all of that, and more. It really comes down to the heart of the matter when he's talking to Dick. Dick's worried about him, not just because he almost got the back of his head blown off, but also because he's attempting to juggle so much. He also wants Tim to know that he's always there for him. However, Tim thinks, "Dick Grayson is my brother. My best friend. But he doesn't get it. Doesn't get that with Batman gone, the 'old rules' went with him. And there are no 'new rules' yet . . . because we have to write them first . . ." The first thing he's done is program the bat-computer with a chaos-program. "The goal is to determine the end result of every-one's actions so that I can prevent them or . . . or manipulate them. Control them so that the results work for us . . for a change! So that this doesn't happen to us anymore!" And with the sternness of his voice, and the passion on his face, it really looks as if Tim is channeling Bruce. At the end of the issue, it appears that Tim has everyone in place. Anarky is outside of a pizza place where the gang-leaders are talking about a purposed truce. Lynx is causing problems so Spoiler gets involved. Harper is on her way, as is the rest of the GCPD. Anarky thinks he's got things right where he wants them, and then . . . . Tim shows up wearing the Red-Robin costume. "Ulysses Hadrian Armstrong . . . you are done hurting my city!" But we aren't going to know what Robin does . . until next issue. Fabian Nicieza is really doing a phenomenal job with this book. He's only been on the book a short time, but he's really shaken things up. And for the better, I think. I'm also very impressed with Freddie Williams II artwork. He's given this book a great feel and I think he's really in touch with Tim's character. I know this title is going to end also, but . . I think it'll be back. Tim, Dick, the Robin character . . . they're all just to strong to let them die here. I know they're not actually dying. I meant as a book . . a story-line. Things may be revamped, or adjusted, but . . I think they'll all be back.

Hellblazer #250 - Vertigo

This was a great book. The thing I liked about it the most was that it really takes us back to the meat & potatoes of this character. I've been praising this book the last few months mostly because it really seems that Andy Diggle is trying to get this character back to his roots. Yeah things may be a little more complicated now . . with this laughing magician thing and his reality separated twin, but . . I really think that Andy has a firm grasp on this character and will do great things with him in the future. Now, unfortunately, Andy doesn't partake in this issue. He's probably resting from his last couple of story-arcs . . and, these are all short stories with holiday themes. The writers on this issue include Brian Azzarello, Jamie Delano, Dave Gibbons, China Mieville and Peter Milligan. They all do a fantastic job of blending John's particular character, and nature, with the holiday theme that's expressed on the cover. Which by the way is a fantastic cover by Lee Bermejo. There's also some great art on the inside of this issue. Sean Phillips, Jamie Delano, Rafael Grampa', Eddie Campbell and Giuseppe Camuncoli all contribute to the interiors. Really, this would be a great issue to pick up even if you haven't been following the series. All the stories are really stand alone chapters, and they all give us some great insight into the characters complexity. It really would be a great place for someone to start anew with this book. Yes, that's a huge hint! You won't be disappointed though. Just tell them . . I sent you.

Batgirl #6 - DC

This is always a fun issue to read. Well . . fun . . considering the child/parent issues that they're dealing with. Anyways, at the end of last issue Cassie finally catches up to Cain. But since he's here to kill Oracle . . will she be on time? Of course she will. He does get a shot off at the building, but all it really does is alert Babs and Misfit as to what going on outside . . across the street, on top of the building, in the rain. I think the thing I liked best about this particular issue was the way Cassie was thinking about things. Personally, I think that Bruce knew what she was up to all along. But, it wasn't going to fix the issues she's dealing with if he was to stop her, or jump in and help her fix it. This was something she had to deal with, and she was going to have to deal with it sooner or later. So, since the ball was already rolling, I think Bruce decided to just let it play out and see if his faith in her was justified. Anyways, Cassie goes into it deciding that he wasn't going to let Cain get into her head. That's always how he beats her . . getting into her head and making her doubt herself . . her worth. But this time she prepares herself mentally, and during the course of their conversation . . actually, his berating of her . . she turns the whole conversation back on him. Everything that he's claiming that she's done . . he's actually doing it himself. In the end she ends up tossing him over the side of the building. The real test comes though when he's hanging from the edge. She can either step on his fingers, knocking him off, or she can extend a hand and save him. She contemplates it for a few moments, but eventually . . . leaps to extend the hand. She misses. However, Batman and Robin are waiting on the ledge below. "After all Cain's done to you, the fact that you moved at all is impressive. You didn't kill him and you could have. After everything, you tried to help. You're free of the worst things he taught you."And then Batman drops the bombshell on her. " . . . it's your choice. And so is this . . . something I should've done a long time ago . . if you'll let me, when we get back to Gotham . . . I'd like to start adoption proceedings. You're one of us, Cassandra. You always have been, and I'm sorry I didn't let you know it sooner. Now I just want to make sure . . . you'll always have a real family . . as long as I'm around." However, I don't think he knows the irony of the last part of that statement. Plus the fact that now, Bruce Wayne playboy billionaire, is going to have 3 wards . . . or, children. That's pretty ironic in and of itself. I'm not sure how all of this is going to play out. It may change a bit with the RIP and Last Rites story-line, but . . I guess we'll just have to wait and see. This was also part of Dick's and Cassie's conversation at the end of the last Outsiders issue. It was kind of Dick's way of letting her know that he also accepted her as family. Overall, very moving. I think Adam Beechen and J Calafiore did a fantastic job with this series. Cassie is a great character and they've taken her to a new point in her life. It's up to her where she goes from here . . . metaphorically.

Birds of Prey #125 - DC

We get a special treat this issue. The cover for this issue is billed as Stephane Roux. And don't get me wrong, she's been doing some fantastic covers. But, from looking at it more closely, it really seems more like a Frank Quitely cover. But I couldn't tell for sure. They wouldn't muck-up the credits? Right? Well, I finally found, on the car in the picture, right on the front of the hood where the emblem would be . . it says Quitely. Seriously, I've looked at this cover about a dozen times thinking, how did she mimic his style so well? And why? I know. It's not that big of a deal, but . . things like that . . get me. So now I can say . . . look at that fantastic Frank Quitely cover. I love it! Anyways, with that out of the way . . . it appears that before this book is through . . . yes it's almost over with . . Oracle, with the rest of her birds, have decided to take down this Syndicate, one by one if they have to, before they leave town. And Black Canary is back to give Babs a hand. Personally, I think Tony Bedard writes some great action stories. He's also very good with the group books. It's interesting to see the morose that Babs is going through. Even with her doing this 'Thelma & Louise' thing in this car with her best friend Dinah. You can just see the writing on the wall. She loves this group . . they're all friends and family now, but . . she has some things that she needs to work out and I think she's only going to be able to do that on her own. But, before she goes out on her own . . eventually, I think, to put things to rest with the Joker . . she wants to wrap up what she's started her in Platinum Flats. So this issue they take out the Caretaker. And who better to wrap up these final issues than Scott McDaniel. Some people love his style . . some don't, but personally I think he fits in perfectly with these action themed stories. He has fantastic frame-flow which makes him perfect for these action sequences. This is one of my favorite books, and it hasn't let me down in quite a while. I'm hoping that after the short hiatus . . with Babs, Oracle's own mini-series . . that we'll be coming back to this title somewhere down the line. I'm going to keep holding out hope. It's what I do!

Tangent: Superman's Reign #10 - DC

It's taken 10 issues, but . . . with the series nearing it's end, the story-line has finally come down to the 'meat & potatoes'. This whole story revolves around Harvey Dent, Superman. Or I should say, the Tangent Superman. Basically, all he really wanted was to make his world a better place. A more equal place. His world was a place where a group of people wanted for food, while across the world they threw their surplus away. Some countries lived in daily fear of terrorist acts, while others tried to ignore what was going on . . pretending it didn't exist. That is until it landed on their doorstep. All he really wanted to do was to take that away. But, in the process, he realized you can't get rid of terrorists . . you can't get rid of tyrants . . you can't get rid of any number of other disparaging humans traits and weakness' . . without taking on a little bit of that trait yourself. After-all, if you want to catch a murderer, you have to think like one. So imagine what that can do to a man . . how it can twist his original altruistic vision until one day he wakes up and finds out that he's the tyrant . . that he's the terrorist . . that he's the person the world is most afraid of. But, since his vision is now complete . . how can he go back on any of that? The ends justify the means. Right? Anyways, there's only been one person that was an actual threat to him . . that had any hope of actually standing up to him . . his wife, Lola Dent. She saw the lines he was crossing and wanted out. But since he had given her a power level almost his equal, and I'm sure there was some love involved there, he couldn't just take her out like he did with the rest of the trash around the world. So they made a deal. She would go away and let the world think she was dead, while he would allow it . . as long as she kept her mouth shut and didn't interfere. The Tangent heroes never approached her because they didn't know she was still alive. It took our world's Batman to do some digging and put the pieces together. After convincing her to join their cause, they link up all of the Green Lanterns powers, as well as a boost from the Tangent Atom, to hone in on Guy's power-ring and create a portal to bring them all home. The Tangent Superman has found a new mission . . . he wants to bring the same message of peace to our world . . whether we want it or not. But now the Tangent heroes, alongside the Justice League . . and Lola . . have come back to try to put a stop to that. But Harvey has foreseen just such a complication and has started to assemble an army of his own . . . all the villains he can find on our world. I think that this is probably one of the best issues of this series that I have read to date. There's a whole lot going on, and we make some huge strides in the story-line. I'm also appreciative that new artist Carlos Magno is currently on board. Those issues with Wes Craig were . . . well, I don't need to throw rocks. Lets just say this final part of this series is a huge improvement. I was really beginning to wonder where Dan Jurgens was going with all of this, but . . it's getting to the point now where we can start to see what the payoff's going to be. Like I've said before, I think this is a great cast of characters and I think we've really only just begun to tap into their true potential. Is there something more for them after this? I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Batman and the Outsiders #14 - DC

This issue gives us a bit of a clearer picture about the direction that Frank Tieri wants to take this group in. Basically, it feels like Batgirl, Cassandra, is the only one that cares about whether or not this group has a future. As much of a loner as she is, I think she's really gotten used to being part of a 'family' . . . a member of a group. Especially in their line of business, it has to be such a relief to know that you have people working with you that you can count on, and you know they have your back. Anyways . . she's trying to set up a 'network' of individuals to try to help her take better care of Gotham. So far she's started with Dick, Vigilante and the Riddler. But we don't know who else she might have talked to. But Dick is pissed. He's also mad at Alfred because he knew but didn't try to stop her. He really puts Alfred on the spot when he questions him and asks him what Bruce would've wanted, "How could you allow it to happen? You know he would never approve . . ." Which really gets Alfred going, "Mind yourself! Young man. I certainly don't need to be lectured about that. I believe I would know better than anyone what he would approve of. But we must accept that he is not coming back . . . and that we must find the means to replace what he did for this city. The concept of what he stood for may be more important than one man. Or one method. And if this network proves to be the method that allows his legacy to continue, it has my blessing. Whether he would have approved of it or not. And, dare I say it, whether you approve of it or not." After a scolding like that . . Dick and Cassie sit down and try to bury the hatchet. They decide that they need to come together and be a 'family' again. " . . your network . . if it's going to work properly, run smoothly . . if we want to reach as many allies as possible . . . what I'm trying to say is . . ." But they seem to be of the same mind because Cassie finishes for him, "You don't have to finish. I understand. It might be best if you managed it." And with that, they truly come together. So, it appears that the Outsiders now have a future, a course of action and a focus. In between all of this story, we also see in the background, and shadows, that it appears that someone else is getting themselves ready to take the Batman's place. We don't really know who he is, but . . I'm guessing, because of the page with the monks . . . "Am I worthy? Please say that I am, for the suit of sorrows . . . is beckoning me." To which the monks respond, "No, you are not worth yet. But soon, my angel of death. Very soon." So I'm thinking . . . Jean-Paul Valley. Maybe? Anyways, I thought this was a great issue. I like the feeling the Ryan Benjamin is bringing to this book. But, I'm very excited to see the Outsider's Special coming soon which teams up Frank with Adam Kubert. That should be a spectacular book. I'm glad this book isn't going anywhere. It would've been a shame to lose this one also.

Terra #4 - DC

To cut straight to the chase . . . I really liked this series. I'm glad that Terra . . or a form of her . . is back. And I'm glad that she's not the juvenile delinquent that she's been in the past. I thought Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray did a bang-up job on this story. But, what really sold the book to me was Amanda Conner's art. I know she's been around for a while, but . . I've just never been a huge fan. I even have some Wonder Woman's that she signed. I got 'em by accident. But her stuff just never really excited me the way that this book did. Maybe it's because she did her own inks and stuff. I don't know. Plus, the colors on this series were especially vibrant. Overall, this series had a good feel . . and a great look to it. I have to say thanks to everyone for delivering on this one. I also really like this 'new' Terra character. This issue we get some of the background on the civilization that she comes from. It was obvious, but great, that Geo-Force became involved in this story-line. I think he's a great character that's completely underutilized. He came into this story, I think, kind of pissed that someone was taking his sister's name. Even if her powers were exactly the same. But, by the end of this issue, he sees that overall she's a good person, and really does want to save the world, so . . he gives her his blessing. "Listen, kid. This whole thing is kind of strange, but I like you. I think your heart's in the right place. I'm a big enough man to admit it well be tough at first, but if you want to use the name Terra you can." Not that she needed his approval, but . . it was a nice gesture. I am worried though because before they head back to the surface world they have to erase their memories. So, is Brion going to remember that he made peace with Terra? Or is she going to have to prove herself all over again? She doesn't have to prove herself to Powergirl though. When Terra goes back topside, she goes straight for PG. "I feel a bond with you. Like we should be friends." So it appears that her and PG are going to be BFF's. The issue ends on a good note. Terra and PG are out shopping and eating, when PG here's that Solomon Grundy is loose again. Terra gets all excited, "Not that sounds like fun! Can we go?" There's a lot of potential here. I hope they make the best of it.

the Spirit #24 - DC

Another boring issue of this comic. Ok, I'll admit this one was a little more interesting, but really . . . not much. It wasn't really hard to figure out the plot of the book . . or the motivation. And in the end when the wheel-chaired veteran comes for some pay-back . . walking . . it certainly wasn't that much of a surprise. And even if it was . . . who cares? I thought the best part of the book was the Paul Smith cover. I've decided not to see the movie either until it gets to the $1 movies, or it comes out on DVD. I'm sure it's an ok movie, but . . . it looks an awful lot like Sin City or 300. At least from the previews. I understand that Frank Miller is the executive producer . . . which explains the look and feel of the movie, but . . unless he wrote it, I can't see that he'd be able to make all that much of an impact on the story. But like I said, I'll check it out . . . later. I'm thinking that #25 will probably be my last issue of this book. I can't justify paying for it every month when I'm really not getting that much enjoyment out of it. So . . I have to stop someplace, and #25 seems like a nice number to wrap it up. Unless something changes next issue . . . thats it for me. Sorry. I have to watch my budget and I'd hate to miss something better because this book is still in my list.

Manhunter #37 - DC

Ok, I understand that this story takes place about 12 years in the future. But . . I'm not sure why. Ramsey is all grown up, and Kate is still in the super-hero biz. Gray hair and all. Kate has gotten remarried . . to Matt. Dylan and Mark are still around. And Todd and Jen are around . . . apparently Jen came back from the dead . . . and are training Ramsey in the art of the cape and cowl. He wants to be a super-hero. Why not? He has the power . . from his grandfather . . and he's been watching his mom for his whole life. Plus, I'm not sure what his power is, but it appears that Ramsey's boyfriend is also 'gifted'. Maybe they can all get together and restart Infinity Inc.? But I don't think that's what this story is all about. The issue starts off with Kate chasing Nellie Lovett. She's Sweeney Todd's lover. She's got his blade and is apparently trying to find a host for his return. She gets away from Kate, but Kate does get her razor. Which she takes to Bones. But it appears that the blade actually is possessed and now he does have a new host . . . Bones. I don't know, maybe I'm crazy, but . . I just think this is an odd way to end the series. Next issue is the last, and we're going to spend that wrapping up this 'What if?' story? Or . . maybe it's a dream. Either way, obviously, Kate's going to be around for a while . . whether it's with the Birds or the League . . so she's got a lot of stories in front of her. I'm just trying to figure out why they're ending the series this way. Anyways, Marc Andreyko is the writer, but the art was split up a bit between Michael Gaydos, Carlos Magno and Dennis Calero. It doesn't really matter who did what because it all pretty much looks the same. I like this character. I wasn't overly thrilled with these last 7 issues, but . . Kate has a lot of potential. She's been with the Birds occasionally, but I really think that she has League potential. I'm hoping that somebody does something with her in the near future. Overall it was an ok issue. It just seems weird to me that this is the way they've decided to go out.

Supergirl #36 - DC

And we bring in the new year with Supergirl. This issue's brought to us by Sterling Gates and Jamal Igle. I really liked Jamal's work. This is the next chapter in our New Krypton storyline. At the end of the last issue of Action, we saw Kara's dad, Zor, taken down by Reactron. He had Gold Kryptonite in his chest. It's power is to remove a Kryptonian's power for 15 minutes. He does this, and then he starts killing as many as possible. We also found out that the whole thing was orchestrated by General Lane and Lex Luthor. Anyways, Supergirl is powerless also so there's not much she can do. Especially with the city being attacked by Reactron and all of the Brainiac robots. But it seems like through sheer determination Kara decides that she's not going to stand back and let her father's death go unavenged. She fights her way to them, and when she's surrounded by the robots, it looks like she wills her anger to be focused through her eyes. In a burst of heat-vision she melts them all down to slag. After her father's funeral Kara leaves Kandor in a fit of rage. However, while traveling back to civilization she comes into contact with Superwoman. They talk and it seems to help Kara. We don't know who this Superwoman is, but I'm guessing it's Kara's mother, Alura. But, I could be wrong. We also get a glimpse of Nightwing & Flamebird in Gotham. We haven't seen these guys in a long time. Probably way back to World's Finest. I like the way this story is progressing. It seems to be taking it's natural course or events. I'm assuming that eventually they're going to have to take Kandor off planet. Plus with all these cities and sentients aboard Brainiac's ship . . there's certainly no place here for them all here. I'm just wondering if Superwoman and Nightwing & Flamebird will be sticking around. I think we're getting near the end of this story-arc so the answers will be coming up on us pretty fast. I also like it when these storylines are tied throughout all of the Superman books. I think it ties all the books together better, plus . . it's nice for the franchise to all be on the same page. Continuity is the key. Right?