Green Lantern Corps: Edge of Oblivion #5 - A Review

Discovering they've been duped into aiding a group of world-devouring parasites, several of the surviving Green Lanterns are feeling pretty foolish. And nobody feels more foolish than Guy Gardner. Unfortunately for the parasites in question, there's few things Guy Gardner hates more than feeling foolish and one of them is anyone who leads him to feel foolish.


I loved the way Tom Taylor wrote Guy Gardner back in Injustice: Year Two, showing a true understanding of the character unseen in the monthly Green Lantern books for some time. There's a flashback sequence here that summarizes Guy's character better than anything I've ever seen. Taylor's script beautifully ties this into Guy's current conflict, while displaying the perfect balance of action and humor that has made Taylor so beloved as a writer.


Unfortunately, the artwork is all over the place this month.  This is primarily due to Scott McDaniel, who apparently did all of the layouts but none of the finishes. McDaniel can be a great artist, but it just seems strange to have the likes of Ardian Syaf and Cliff Richards (both good artists) trying to draw their work according to a McDaniel design. Three individual inkers only serve to confound the visual continuity further.

Green Lantern Corps: Edge of Oblivion #4 - A Review

Trapped on a sentient planet in a dying universe, half of what remains of The Green Lantern Corps has been captured by Marniel - a terrorist threatening the lives of all those who dwell within The Last City. But could things really be that cut and dry? Is it possible The GLC has been on the wrong side this whole time and that their allies - the giants Dismas and Ausras - are not the benevolent forces they believe them to be?


Strange allies turning out to be the real enemy is an old cliche in space opera. Yet Tom Taylor's script manages a novel twist with this revelation. As this chapter ends, Guy Gardner remains unconvinced as to Marniel's innocence and - given the power Marniel shows - it's not hard to see how she might be manipulating the rest of the captured Corps members to her side, even if she's telling the truth about the giants being monsters.


Adrian Syaf proves a most capable replacement for Ethan Van Sciver, with Aaron Kuder providing the layouts for this issue. Jonathan Glapion and Jaime Mendoza provide a seamless continuity between their respectively inked pages. And Jason Wright does his usual amazing job on the colors.

Superman #48 - A Review

The Justice League is held hostage as Vandal Savage makes a play for world domination. This would be a job for Superman... if he weren't running on empty. To refuel his powers, he will attempt a mad plan that could kill him faster than Savage's newest minion The Puzzler can. But that plan will require the help of one person Clark Kent would rather not talk to - Col. Steve Trevor of ARGUS.


The story this month is something of a mixed bag. Gene Luen Yang does a good job explaining the crossover so far for those readers, like me, who aren't reading any of the other Superman titles. And the concept for the new Puzzler - who absorbs technology into himself piecemeal - is an interesting one. Nevertheless, Yang his hampered by the fact that he's one writer at work at one part of a crossover and there's so much to be addressed that he doesn't have time to linger on some of the social scenes he's so good at writing. There's a lot of material to be mined between Clark and Steve's status as Wonder Woman's ex-boyfriends but Yang has little time to examine that here.


Unfortunately, the artwork is as conflicted as as the writing. With two artists and three inkers at work, there's very little visual continuity from page to page. About the only thing that is consistent is the coloration by Hi-Fi, which seems bright to the point of glowing like a neon sign.

Earth 2: World's End #1 - A Review

If you've been reading Earth 2, then this first chapter of Earth 2: World's End will offer some welcome information about the history behind the Earth/Apokolips War that kicked off the start of the series.  And if you haven't been reading Earth 2, may the gods of all the pantheons have mercy upon you should you attempt to muddle your way through this book.  This book isn't entirely incomprehensible to new readers, but for every point of The Story So Far it explains, another two go untouched.


Case In Point: The book does a great job of explaining the back-stories of Supergirl and Robin (Now Power Girl and Huntress) and depicting their journey to Earth One and back. But the issue does nothing to explain the story of the new Superman, Val-Zod, or the importance of Jimmy "Accountable" Olsen.  This is doubly vexing since this book unloads a major bombshell that isn't easily understood unless you already know about Jimmy Olsen's superpower in this reality.

That's the damnable paradox of this issue.  It is meant to be bringing new readers up to speed with the story of Earth 2 so far but it is so incredibly piece-meal as to what information it chooses to offer up that it is completely useless as an entry point for new readers. This is doubly unfortunate because there are a number of highly touching scenes in this issue once you get past all the history.  My favorite is Power Girl's reunion with her mother, Lois Lane.  Well, the Red Tornado body housing Lois Lane's personality... but why quibble? It is still a touching scene.


I have little to say about the art on this book.  With eight artists working together, there is very little consistency or visual continuity, but that's been a problem with most of DC Comics' weekly titles.  The nicest thing I can say is that there isn't any artwork that is glaringly awful but I still think these books would benefit from having one artist each week rather than a team working on three or four pages every issue.

The Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle - A No Flying, No Tights Review

For over a dozen novels and a goodly number of short stories and novellas, Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files have delighted millions of readers around the world. It’s fair to say that Harry Dresden may be the most famous supernatural detective in modern fiction. A fully ordained Wizard of The White Council, Dresden is also an accredited private investigator and the Chicago Police Department’s go-to guy for any supernatural weirdness that the cops can’t explain away as business-as-usual.

The series is full of comic book references, such as Harry’s car, an oft-destroyed and oft-rebuilt Volkswagen Beetle, being named after the superhero “The Blue Beetle.” As a character, Dresden himself seems to be a mix of Marvel Comics influences – think “What If Peter Parker Had Become The Sorcerer Supreme Instead Of Doctor Strange?” It’s no surprise, then, that Jim Butcher recalls his love of comics as a kid and their influence on his writing in the introduction to this volume, the first original graphic novel starring Harry Dresden.

The plot centers upon a murder at the Lincoln Park Zoo. Harry is brought in to investigate the death of a night watchman who was beaten to death by something much stronger than he was. The best theory the police have is that one of the gorillas somehow escaped its locked enclosure and turned savage. It’s a flimsy theory, but it’s enough to make the city demand the accused gorilla be put to death, despite the protest of the zoo’s primate experts that gorillas are docile and attack only if threatened. In order to save Moe the Gorilla’s life – to say nothing of the lives of any future victims – Harry must put all his skills as a detective and a wizard to the test.

This story is set in the early days of Dresden’s career, so comic readers unfamiliar with the novels don’t need to worry about references to the books that they won’t understand. Indeed, Butcher does a masterful job of introducing all the established players besides Harry himself. These include Lieutenant Karrin Murphy (Harry’s main contact with the Chicago PD), her skeptical partner Carmichael, and Bob The Skull – a spirit of knowledge bound in a human skull who acts as Harry’s research assistant and comedic foil. On the other side of the fence, fans of the Dresden Files who aren’t regular comic readers will be glad to know this graphic novel reads just like one of Butcher’s regular novels, despite the inclusion of some pretty pictures.

The pretty pictures are provided by the always excellent Ardian Syaf. Syaf’s character designs perfectly capture the look and spirit of each of the established characters. Harry is a tall, lanky man who resembles an unshaven Peter Parker. Karrin Murphy is a short but powerful-looking woman with hard eyes that don’t seem to fit the rest of her pretty face. And Bob – well, he looks like a skull with glowing orange eyes. More importantly, Syaf is an excellent visual storyteller who can match Butcher’s scripts for tone and pacing. The action scenes are laid out well and flow naturally from panel to panel.

If this is your first exposure to the world of the Dresden Files, you are in for a treat. If you’re a long-time Jim Butcher fan who has never read a comic before, I think you’ll see the appeal of the medium by story’s end. And it should be obvious to all why this story was nominated for a Hugo Award and why it made the ALA’s Great Graphic Novels For Teens list in 2010. This novel is wholly appropriate for teenage audiences, containing nothing worse than a few curse words and some mild violence. Despite this, I would still recommend librarians place this series in their adult fiction collections (assuming you don’t have a separate adult graphic novels section), where it may be more easily discovered by Dresden Files fans who don’t usually read comics.

The Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle
by Jim Butcher
Art by Ardian Syaf
ISBN: 9780345507464
Del Rey/Dabel Brothers, 2008
Publisher Age Rating: (13+)

Green Lantern #19 - A Review

Everything I said about the artwork last month applies to this month's Green Lantern as well.  The two separate art teams do an excellent job of telling two very different stories within their very different worlds.  The shorter, more stylized portion of the comic is drawn and inked by Szymon Kurdanski, who delivers a deliberately sketchy style in depicting The Dead Zone where Hal Jordan finds himself trapped, neither alive nor dead.  I wonder, in retrospect, if there's some connection between this place and The Phantom Zone?


Most of this issue is drawn by Ardian Syaf, with inks by Guillermo Ortego and Mark Irwin, in a more traditional superhero style.  As in the previous two issues of Green Lantern Corps, we are treated to a number of Elseworlds-styled scenarios where our heroes get to see how the universe would have changed had it been for one small twist of fate.  This time, it is Sinestro who confronts The First Lantern and is exposed to visions of what might have been, all while The First Lantern finally reveals its' purpose in manipulating the emotions of the Green Lantern Corps. greatest heroes and gathering energy from them...


This is a solid issue of Green Lantern but it's completely inaccessible to those readers not already immersed in the glory of it's universe.  I highly suggest tracking down a copy of Green Lantern: Rebirth and starting from there if you are interested in seeing what all the hype is about.  This is a great book but this is not a good time to start with the monthly series.

Dresden Files: Ghoul Goblin #3 - A Review

Dresden Files: Ghoul Goblin #3 is light on action but heavy on drama and comedy.  Your enjoyment of this issue may be entirely dependent upon how much tolerance you have for Harry Dresden snarking as the whole world is turning against him.  Of course if you didn't enjoy that sort of thing, the odds are you wouldn't be a fan of this series in the first place.



The plot thickens as wizard/detective Harry Dresden doubles his efforts to aid a family in ridding themselves of a supernatural curse. We see Harry work some serious magic this time, evoking spirits to gain information while risking pneumonia (Unlike most magic, communing with nature spirits DOES require the mage to be naked in the woods).  By issue's end, we see Harry confront another supernatural menace we've never seen before in The Case Files in a scene that promises the next issue will open up with the action that this issue lacked.


The artwork by Joseph Cooper continues to impress.  All the character designs are unique and distinctive, so there's no confusion about who is who - a problem that existed in previous Dresden File graphic novels.  The flow of the story is well-depicted, though this issue seems somewhat slow since most of the action involves Harry investigating and talking to people rather than making things blow up.  Get past that though, and this book's an enjoyable read.

Green Lantern #18 - A Review

Green Lantern #18 offers an interesting study in contrast between two very different artists depicting separate sections of the same story.  It also finally allows Geoff Johns the chance to answer a question that has been brewing for months - exactly what the heck happened to Hal Jordan and Sinestro during their confrontation with Black Hand?


Johns' explanation is a fair one and the drama here is well-played, as one would expect with a Geoff Johns story.  However, readers are more likely to be enraptured by the atmospheric artwork of Szymon Kurdanski and colorist Alex Sinclair.  Can one properly be called a colorist when working in a monochromatic scale?  That's a debate I'd rather not be a part of.  All I know is that the black-and-white imagery used to portray "The Dead Zone" is some of the most interesting I've seen in recent memory.


The artwork in the other sequence, where The Guardians fight Black Hand, is more problematic.  I've enjoyed Ardian Syaf's work on Batgirl before but his work here seems oddly off-model.  The panels seem to cramp the action rather than displaying it and these sequences suffer as a result.  It doesn't look bad.  It just looks tiny in a book where everything should be larger than life.

Green Lantern #18 is an enjoyable read but it's not a good first issue for those who haven't been reading the Green Lantern books already.  If you have yet to discover Geoff Johns' Green Lantern, I'd suggest tracking down a TP of Green Lantern: Rebirth and starting from there.

Dresden Files: Ghoul Goblin #2 - A Review

Dresden Files: Ghoul Goblin #2 is a lackluster follow-up to a promising first issue.  It's not a bad comic but there's very little action and a lot of talking-heads moments.  I suspect this entire series will read better once collected as a single graphic novel rather than as a monthly comic.


Little happens in terms of the plot this time around.  The most interesting bit comes at the end, when Harry has his first encounter with the titular ghoul.  Before that is more of what one might expect with this sort of story - Harry being ordered to get out of town by the corrupt/incompetent sheriff, Harry being rehired by the town mayor and a fair bit of political intrigue involving the cursed family Harry is investigating. 

I'll give Jim Butcher and Joseph Cooper credit for this much - at least there aren't any werewolves involved, which I fully expected after I realized the cursed family was named Talbot.  And there is plenty of the standard Dresden wit, which is the only thing that makes all the talky moments tolerable.  Of course there isn't enough of Bob The Skull for my tastes but there rarely is. 



The artwork by Mark Powers is still top notch, though.  The character designs are unique and memorable, with Dresden looking pretty much as I've always pictured him based on the descriptions in the books.  Heck, I've got a clear picture of what a ghoul looks like for the first time ever! 

Still, I think I'll wait for the trade to collect the rest of this series.  The pacing is a little slow for what I consider acceptable in a monthly comic.  It's well worth picking up if you're a Harry Dresden fan who can't wait for the finished tale but it's just not my cup of tea. 

Dresden Files: Ghoul Goblin #1 - A Review

I've been a big fan of the Dresden Files books by Jim Butcher for a few years now.  Despite this, I haven't been that fond of the various adaptations of the series.  It's not that they're bad.  Well, not always.  The audio books voiced by John Glover and James Marsters are quite good, but I prefer the voices of the characters I hear in my head.  By the same token, the Dresden Files graphic novels have been decent enough (I liked the character designs in Fool Moon, though I found the proportions of some of the characters was out of whack) but they don't always jibe with the way I envision the action.  The new Dresden Files comic series - Ghoul Goblin - is unlikely to change my feelings anytime soon but I must say that it is a worthy addition to the Dresden canon. 


This opening chapter is vintage Dresden.  This should be no surprise since Jim Butcher had a hand in the writing along with Mark Powers.  I'm not sure of Powers wrote the script based on Butcher's idea of if Butcher had a direct hand in writing the dialogue, but this story feels like a Dresden Files story should. 

This adventure is set between Fool Moon and Grave Peril.  After an opening encounter with some kind of monster that looks like it came from The Black Lagoon, private detective/professional wizard Harry Dresden returns to the office to find a small-town sheriff waiting for him.  Seems his town's had a rash of strange deaths, all centering around one family whose history is full of similar tragic deaths.  Intrigued and in desperate need of work since he's not on speaking terms with his usual police contacts at the moment, Harry agrees to journey to Missouri with his research assistant Bob (a snarky spirit of knowledge, who lives in a skull Harry owns) in tow. 


The artwork by Joseph Cooper is a definite step-up from what we saw in Fool Moon.  Cooper's Harry Dresden looks something like Jim Butcher's original description of Harry as "Peter Parker, but taller".  Actually, there are some points where he looks like a surly David Tennant, which might prove an interesting casting choice if one were to attempt to bring Dresden to the screen again.  Cooper also manages a few subtle nods to the series mythology in the background, showing Harry looking nervously at the mirror in his hotel room while having a conversation with Bob (Wizards don't like mirrors - they become doorways too easily) and showing Harry making an effort to keep away from the electrical lights his presence tends to short out.

If you're a Jim Butcher fan, this is definitely worth a read.  You might also check it out if you're a comic lover who likes modern magical stories or urban fantasies.  Heck, Spider-Man fans might enjoy this series as a "What If?" tale about a world where Peter Parker became his world's equivalent of Doctor Strange.

Batgirl #12 - A Review

The centerpiece of Batgirl #12 is an event that was highly anticipated and highly demanded by several readers - a confrontation between Batgirl and Batwoman. This could have been a terribly cliched moment. If two heroes fighting each over over a misunderstanding before teaming up to face the real enemy isn't the Number One trope on the list of Superhero Storylines, it's got to be in the top three. Thankfully, Gail Simone tackles this scene with her trademark humor and turns it into the event it should be.




As much as I may look forward to Ed Benes taking over the art duties on this book next month, I will miss Adrian Syaf's work as well. Over the past few issues, Syaf has proven more than capable of depicting a variety of scenes. From high action to slapstick comedy, Syaf brought Simone's scripts to life perfectly. Still, all good things must come to an end. Hopefully Syaf will have a new gig shortly.

Batgirl #11 - A Review

Last week, I happened across an article which rated which characters had been the best and worst served by the New 52 Reboot. I was astonished to find that the author had put Batgirl on the list of the worst served.

Worst served than Catwoman? Worst served than Starfire? According to this author, yes.

"The book that makes no one happy. We went from goofy Barbara Gordon as '60s Batgirl to mega-competent Oracle then back to goofy Barbara Gordon as New 52 Batgirl who apparently forgot what it was like to be mega-competent Oracle. I'll even suspend judgment on the whole "getting-out-of-the-wheelchair" thing because, you know, comic books. But the aloof Batgirl just doesn't cut it once we've seen Barbara Gordon absolutely rule everything thrown at her back in the old DCU."

Wrapping my brain around this, a thought occurred to me. He must not have read the book since the first issue! Yes, that issue was a little heavier on the humor than usual. Yes, that issue did end with Barbara Gordon freezing up at gun-point and a cop dying as a result. And yes, Barbara has been spending some time - no pun intended - finding her feet since then.

But to say that Barabra Gordon has been completely goofy? To say that she's no longer mega-competent? To say that there's no bit of the woman who was Oracle left? There's no way he's been reading the same comic I've been reading for the last year! And this last issue proved it.




In the opening battle scene, Barbara holds her own against three metahumans for several minutes. She does eventually get brought to heel, but it's through no fault of her own. Later on, Barbara shows that she's still a genius when it comes to computers and that she's every bit Batman's equal as a detective, deducing from a few things in a woman's apartment that there's far more to the cop with a vendetta against her than meets the eye.




Praising the art of Adrian Syaf may be too-little, too-late as former Birds of Prey artist Ed Benes is poised to take over the art on this series with Issue #13. Still, Syaf is a talented artist whose work I have enjoyed immensely over the past year. Hopefully he'll find a new monthly gig elsewhere at DC Comics in the coming months.

If you're a Birds of Prey fan who has been reluctant to give this title a shot or was turned off by the first issue, come back. The Barbara Gordon you loved hasn't gone anywhere. Indeed, she's waiting for you to discover her again.

Batgirl #7-9: A Review

Batgirl has surprised me more than any other title in recent memory.  I wasn't sure what to expect with the first issue and every issue since then has found little ways to astonish me.  By way of a for instance, Batgirl #7 made me realize how much I miss Gail Simone writing Black Canary.

Dinah Lance is strictly here in a supporting role but the brief interlude makes it clear how very important she is to Barbara Gordon as a friend and mentor, even if we're still unsure exactly what their relationship in the past may have been.  The second act of the book has Barbara going to Dinah, nominally to spar and test her combat skills but really to unload on someone about the recent craziness in her life (i.e. the mom who abandoned her wanting to make peace).




The art for this scene is handled by guest artist Alitha Martinez, who partners up with regular penciler Adrian Syaf.  For the next two issues, Martinez handles the more thoughtful, domestic scenes while Syaf handles the action.  This proves to be a bold choice that helps to subtly separate the scenes as the story progresses, with Martinez's softer, more cartoonish style offering a humorous contrast to the darker, dynamic scenes illustrated by Syaf.



The action of both #7 and #8 deals with Batgirl's attempts to track down a new masked robber - a connoisseur of sorts who calls himself Grotesque.  And it is Barbara's pursuit of the baddie and his henchmen into the sewers that leads to another surprising revelation.  Namel, that one of Grotesque's hired goons is one of the men who was backing-up The Joker on night Barbara was paralyzed!  


Much of Issue #8 focuses upon Barbara's attempts to sort out her feelings regarding this thug even as she struggles to bring Grotesque to heel.  As before, Martinez and Syaf take turns on the art duties, though this time Martinez seems to focus on a subplot that I will not discuss here.  Suffice it to say, it will probably take center stage in future issues and prove to be quite exciting.


Issue #9 is a tie in with the Batman: Night of Owls storyline but the story hardly breaks Simone's stride.  Much like the recent Nightwing title, this issue shows us the origin of the unfortunate soul who would become one of the Court of Owl's Talons - monstrous assassins brought back from the dead and rendered near invulnerable.  More, we discover another connection to the Court of Owls and the circus in which a young Dick Grayson grew up. 


While this is interesting stuff as far as the crossover goes and Simone gives us a cute yet disturbing introduction involving an aspect of the Pacific Theater in World War 2 that is rarely discussed, the real heart of the issue is centered upon James Gordon and his daughter as they fight two different battles in the same war.  Commissioner Gordon is ordered to sit idly while war wages across his city, lest his daughter and the people around him be hurt.  For a while, that threat is enough to stay his hand but - when push comes to shove - Jim Gordon is a good cop.  And as he races through a swiftly disintegrating police station to try and turn on the Bat-Signal, Batgirl fights her own battle to stop the assassin sent to kill her father.

 

I know several of you old-school Birds of Prey fans have been reluctant to give this title a chance.  I understand your reluctance, believe me.  I had my reservations early on, too.  You love Babs as Oracle.  So do I.  But the thing you have to realize is that Barbara Gordon is Barbara Gordon.  Whether she's in a wheelchair or not, whether she's cartwheeling across a rooftop or sitting on top of five mainframes... she is still Barbara Gordon.  She is still the same super-genius spitfire we all love, no matter what the costume, the name or the gimmick. 

Give this book a shot.  I think you'll be surprised.

52 Catch-Up: Batgirl #1-6

Batgirl made me more nervous than any other title in the New 52. While Gail Simone is one of my favorite writers and I trust in her, I shared the worries of many fans that restoring Barbara Gordon's mobility and having her take up the title of Batgirl again might be a step backward. While I didn't think we'd regress to the point of her carrying a red Bat-Purse or have her fix her make-up while Batman and Robin were getting beaten-up, I did agree there was a chance that much of the characterization Barbara had built up as Oracle might be lost.





As I noted in my review of the first issue, this fears turned out to be completely fruitless. And while Birds of Prey fans didn't get any confirmation that Barbara's days as Oracle were still in continuity and we didn't get an explanation for how exactly Barbara was walking again, we did learn that she was paralyzed by The Joker's actions. We also learned that Barbara was still the same strong-willed survivor that we all knew and loved.





More, Simone reminded us that Barbara Gordon has always been smart and strong-willed, whether she was working behind a computer screen or back-flipping across a rooftop. Every note that Simone needed to hit with the first issue, she hit perfectly. That quality of writing, coupled with the amazing artwork of Adrian Syaf and Vicente Cifuentes (which I cannot find the words to describe, so I've included extra scans with this review to showcase their excellent work) has made Batgirl into one of the best books DC Comics is publishing right now - the perfect balance between action, drama, comedy and romance.





For action, we have the main plots regarding some new villains in Gotham. The first four issues center upon a new baddy called The Mirror, who dedicates himself to killing those who somehow cheated death under miraculous circumstances. To explain more beyond that would be to give away too much of the story but I will say there is a certain dramatic balance in pitting Barbara - an example of the power of hope to so many readers - against a villain whose entire motivation is to destroy the hopes of others.





Issues 5 and 6 introduce another new baddie - a telepathic assassin known as Gretle, who seems to have it out for Bruce Wayne and - at one point - forces him to fight Batgirl! Both these villains allow Barbara a chance to showcase her fighting skills. But more than that, we get a chance to see how Barbara's greatest weapon in a fight is her mind, as she analyzes her enemies and figures out ways to maximize her own strengths against them. We also get to see that she's no mean detective, as she deduces what little she can from what few bits of evidence The Mirror leaves behind at his crime scenes.





For Drama, we have the return of Barbara's estranged mother, who apparently walked out and left Jim Gordon to raise two kids on his own when Barbara was 12. Apparently Jim Gordon and Sarah Essen never became an item in this universe, as we are told Jim never found anyone else.





For Comedy, we have numerous moments of the kind of wacky humor we Secret Six fans have grown used to.





For Romance, we have little scenes like Barbara's date with her former physical therapist.






We even have comedy mixed with romance as Barbara confronts Nightwing for the first time in a long-while and they quickly fall back into their old habits... until Barbara makes it clear, with a sharp edge, that whatever her feelings for Richard may be, she has to fight her current battles alone.





With every little scene, we learned more and more about Babs' past in the new DC Universe as well as her current state of mind as she moves out of her father's home and into a new apartment. Her new roomie - an immigrant from Signapore named Alysia - is particularly noteworthy. Though she hasn't been given much page time, Simone has already established Alysia as someone who should not be messed with - a woman capable of patching-up Barbara's injuries but not without questions, immediately making it clear that if Barbara is a victim of some kind of domestic abuse that she is not going to tolerate it. It's subtle touches like this that make Simone's characters more real.





Indeed, the one new creation who seems out of place is Detective McKeena - a Gotham cop who seems poised to become the General Ross to Batgirl's Hulk. The first issue ended with McKenna's partner being killed after Barbara froze up while staring down the barrel of a gun for the first time since reassuming her activities as Batgirl. Blaming Batgirl for the whole incident, she has apparently spent her time on administrative leave obsessing over Batgirl and indeed she tries to arrest her in the middle of an incident where there is another, far more obvious threat endangering people and only Batman's intervention keeps Barbara out of a squad car. This kind of shallow stereotype is beneath Simone's usual level and we can only hope she gets fleshed out a little more in the future.

Despite that, I have no qualms about declaring that Batgirl is a must-read book for any and all lovers of good comics everywhere.

52 Pick-Up - Week Two, Part One

BATGIRL #2 - With this book, Gail Simone has created what is easily the best new villain of the New 52 titles - The Mirror. The name proves to be a fitting one as The Mirror's life is a dark mirror to Barbara Gordon's own, with a personal tragedy having driven him to become a killer whereas Barbara used her tragedies to become a savior. Simone continues to write Barbara as a smart, competent heroine whose mistakes come about through rustiness - not incompetence. There's a lot of great character moments here for Barbara, in and out of the cowl, as she goes out on a date and uses her own mad detective skills to figure out hust who The Mirror is. The art by Adrian Syaf continues to be top-notch, as before. This one is making the pull list.


DEMON KNIGHTS #2 - Already the buzz is that this will likely be the first New 52 title to be canceled - not because it sold any worse than any of the others but because the concept is just too "weird" to hook your average comic fan for long. The cynic in me fears that they are right but the rest of me doesn't care - the rest of me is too busy laughing as I imagine Vandal Savage, sounding something like Brian Blessed in my head, shouting "Die, tasty rare creatures! DIE!" as he beats a dragon/dinosaur to death with his own limb. Seriously - if you liked the same kind of crazy humor that Secret Six reveled in or enjoy fantasy of any stripe, give this series a shot. Another one for the pull list, however long it lasts.


GREEN LANTERN #2 - Picking up where the last one left off, Sinestro offers Hal a bargain. Sinestro creates a limited Green Lantern ring that only gives Hal as much power as Sinestro is willing to give him at any time. In exchange, Sinestro demand's Hal's assistance in liberating Sinestro's homeworld from the fear-empowered Corps that bears his name. Johns does a good job painting Sinestro, not as a power-mad zealot, but as a soldier who crossed the line in defending his particular definition of duty and has continued sliding down the slippery slope every since. This does not make Sinestro any less of an arrogant bastard but there is a nice character moment where he is clearly uncomfortable with people treating him as a hero, seeing his position as a Green Lantern as an unremarkable duty. Sadly, a lot of this nuance is sure to be lost on new readers but this is good stuff for us Oldbies. This one is staying on my pull, but I can't really recommend it to new readers.