Catching up... one more week's worth of books to read and review...
JLA #113: "Worlds In The Balance": I'm still not sure why the switch was needed. I guess I'm enjoying this story overall, though. Lots of plotlines nicely woven together, lots of threats. And it feels like there's hope for a nifty resolution of some sort. I do find it really amusing that somebody didn't bother to tell the artist about Aquaman's costume change, but the colorist was notified... thus Aquaman's magic hand is apparently morphing out of a glove. Ha! 
Seven Soldiers: Klarion The Witch Boy #1: "From This World To That Which Is To Come": I'm not even going to pretend to understand this one. Very little makes sense from the standpoint of the DCU I know, but then, this doesn't really seem to be the DCU I know. Did I like it? Well... I think this one will require the full set before I can judge. As it is, I'll give it the average rating for a superhero book and play wait-and-see. 
Teen Titans #23: "Secrets and Lies": Why is Tempest flying on the splash page? Ahem. Not a bad tale. Dr Light still doesn't seem like much of a threat to me. When Tempest says he's frozen the water in his eyes, it occurred to me that he could have frozen other fluids, like blood, and down goes Light. There are a number of other Titans who could've taken him down as well. So threat? No, sorry. The whole Identity Crisis spillover is ok, but not thrilling. The end is of interest, but only because I wonder what Batman will do once he finds out.
Birds of Prey #81: "Undefended Border": I think I'm actually just getting tired of this title or something, because the story didn't engage me much at all. I didn't hate it, but I didn't find it all that interesting. Group of martial arts experts. Yawn. Drug dealers. Yawn. Helena's gone bad. Yawn. Maybe next month's will be better. 
Aquaman #29: "Undertow": Oh boy. I just know that some people are waiting to hear what I have to say about this one, and I'm just not sure what to say. Ok. I guess I do know what to say. It sucked. It was pretty bad. Not nearly as bad as it has been in the past, but pretty darn smelly. Even Gleason's work, which I've grown to like quite a bit, was weak in this issue. Vulko was written completely wrong. The man was Arthur's BEST FRIEND for many years, this isn't how the two would deal with what happened between them. It just screams "wrong, wrong, wrong!!!" as I'm reading it. Poor research, or poor editing? I can't tell. And while having some Sub-Diegans visit Atlantis seems like a fine idea, this is a pathetic way to go about it. "Hey, wanna come cruise to Atlantis with me?" "Sure thing, old guy!" Then you've got the Martian Manhunter, who is Aquaman's closest friend in the Justice League, again acting like an almost-stranger. Does Aquaman have any friends in Arcudi's universe? Does he have any history at all? And lastly, there's this thing with the fill-in issues. What's wrong NOW? Why a two-part fill-in right smack dab in the middle of a story-arc? ARGH. And two issues ago I was actually enjoying this book quite a bit. What happened?!?? 
Amazing Spider-Man #78/519: "Moving Up": Ok, let me get this straight... Aunt May and Jarvis? I like the twist in situations. Now that Aunt May knows Peter's secret, it's not such a big deal to introduce her into the world that Spider-Man knows. I'm very interested in seeing more of her take on it. So the whole first half of the book was great. Then we got to the second half, which is all set-up for a new storyline. Not so great. I wanted to see more of Jarvis dealing with Aunt May's questions. Maybe next month.
Conan #15: "Wolves in the Woods": While there is nothing wrong with the artwork, I'm missing Cary Nord throughout this issue. I can hardly wait to see more of his work. On the other hand, this is quite a tale, showing young Conan battling a wolf and gaining some of his interest in the outside world. This book has been consistently interesting, and it's nice to have a main character who just wants to have fun.
Solo #4: Howard Chaykin: This was the best one yet. There wasn't one story in this book that I didn't enjoy, except maybe the last autobiographical one, and that one wasn't really meant to entertain so much as educate, I think. This is just out and out GOOD. Certainly worth a look or two. 
The Grimoire #2: Way too confusing. I would hope to get some more unsubtle hints as to what is going on, but this one seems to want to leave the readers in the dark as much as the characters. Or more so, as at least Amandine seems to have a good idea what is happening around her, even if some of her knowledge is wrong. I still like the art, and I think I like the story, but until I know what is happening I'm a little disappointed by this one. But only a little.
Beowulf #1: Not sure what to make of this one. I was amused when hubby-Eric finished the book and told me he liked it. It wasn't something he really wanted to order. I like the beginning, the war story. I found the "Powers" bit to be slightly annoying, but I have a feeling it's not going in the same direction, so I should be ok once I read the next issue or two. Again, I'm just not sure. It's fascinating, but is it good?
Four Letter Worlds: "Love, Hate, Fear, Fate": Sixteen short stories loosely based on the four words, each with a four-letter title. I have to admit, I liked all of the stories in this anthology, which is odd for me as there is usually one I don't care for. But the best one had to be Jeff Parker's story, if only because of who the main character is. Man, that one had me grinning from ear to ear, especially the last panel. This is a good book, and a strong anthology.
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