Rapid Reviews - 17 August 2005

G.I.Spy: This is another Boom! Studios review copy, and it lives up to the studio name if nothing else. I love Matt Haley's artwork, but the story was a little disjointed for my tastes. It never seemed to pull together into a narrative that I wanted to read. I could follow the story, but I didn't really enjoy it. Fun, nice art, but ultimately something I would probably pass on.

Green Lantern #3: "Flight Delay": Still not connecting with this one. I want to say "oh cool!" with the bad guys, but they don't evoke any response on the emotional level. I want to like this book, but I'm just not feeling anything from it. Maybe the next arc will be better?

Detective Comics #810: "A Consequence of Truth: War Crimes part 3": Ok, Spoiler is definitely dead. I got that much from this one. Greg Burgas kindly explained to me why the last issue departed so dramatically from the storyline I was expecting to see, otherwise I'd still be saying "What happened to Bruce being deep undercover?!?" As it is, I'm still left wondering where the second part of this story appeared. Not that I really care, because it's a stupid crossover that not only is giving only part of the story to anyone who only reads Detective, the stupid crossover also screwed up a very long on-going story in this title. If I was getting this book for myself, I would have dropped it immediately. At least the back-up story was mildly chilling.

Seven Soldiers: Klarion #3: "The Deviant Ones": While Klarion is nasty, the crowd he's fallen in with is nastier in many ways. I don't like Klarion much, and I'm not really enjoying this book all that much, either. I think I'm going to drop Seven Soldiers and hope that if it's really good I can get collections.

Genie #2: "First Wish part two: The Burning Arm of Xanda": I like how this story is developing. I'm particularly amused at the wish that gets granted. Xanda appears to really enjoy being a Genie, which seems only natural when you consider the character we met in the first issue. I'm certainly looking forward to reading more of this.

Birds of Prey #85: "A New Morning's Resolution": Ok, so I was wrong about everything being tied up in the last issue. Things got tied up in this issue. I'm not sure about the cliffhanger, though. We've been through this whole thing a number of times. What's the result going to be this time? Anyway... I like Oracle's surgical team, and the curiousity of the JSA was a good touch. But with everything so neatly tied up and finished, what's going to happen in the next issue?

What Were They Thinking?!: This is another Boom! Studios review copy, due to hit stands near you on the 24th. This is a rather frightening remix of an old Wally Wood War comic... original artwork but all new words by Keith Giffin and Mike Leib. Folks who have any sort of thin-skin will want to avoid this one, as it hits a lot of somewhat non-PC themes. I think my favorite story was the "Hearts and Minds" one, about a group of natives under attack from the Japanese during WWII who try desperately to get rid of their obnoxious American "hero". Certainly worth a look if you want a laugh.