Rapid Reviews - 7 December 2005

Slowly, slowly, trying to catch up on my reviews. If I continue at this pace, I might have a year-end wrap-up post by July...

Conan & The Demons of Khitai #3: Eh. It's heroic fantasy at it's best, and I'm enjoying the story. But this installment just left me wanting. The tragic deaths of the brother and sister seemed ill-timed, as well. I generally want more from a penultimate issue of a mini.

Battle Hymn #5: "A New Age Dawning": I don't know how I expected this mini to end, but this was DEFINITELY not it. Overall I enjoyed this one. Lots of very nice little touches.

Angel: Old Friends #1: We finally get to see who survived the final episode of Angel, as the gang starts to pull together to fight a vampire with a familiar face stalking the streets. I like, but I really think that maybe I should be waiting for collections on these. $4 a pop is just too much, and this issue didn't even have a text back-up story like the ones in the last mini.

JSA #80: "Lost & Found" part three of three: AAAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!! That was my response as soon as I saw who the villain really was. Another one of my least favorite retcons (because it was so unnecessary) pops back into the DC Universe. Annoying annoying annoying. Ah well. Such is life.

Outsiders #31: "Out-Of-Town Work": I'm so very uninterested in the cosmic side of the DC Universe that most of the action in this book just made me yawn. Oh, I'll keep reading it as long as hubby-Eric gets it, but I'm just not all that impressed with it.

Superman #224: "Focus": A nice little tale of contrasts between Lex Luthor and Superman. I'm really not up on the current "history" of Lex and Clark's relationship, but this story implies that, like on Smallville, they knew each other as young men. And oddly, Lex gains inspiration from Clark while on a quest to kill Superman. The contrast is in where Superman gains his inspiration. Not a bad tale, all told.

Justice League Unlimited #16: "Smashing Through The Snow!": Have I mentioned lately that I really like this book? It's probably closest to my ideal superhero book in many ways. A huge team, with the focus changing depending on who the writers want to emphasize. Anyway, this issue deals with a prisoner who escapes on Christmas in the hopes of seeing his son, but is stopped just short of his goal. I love the resolution, the thinking that went into this. Even though I saw the ending coming from a mile away, I still enjoyed the book. Especially the way Atom Smasher's "eyes" managed to convey so much of his emotion.

Powers #15: I don't know what to make of this one. The main story was straightforward enough, but the ending made no sense. Guess I'll have to wait until next issue.

Age of Bronze #22: "Betrayal 3": Paris attempts a night raid to kill his enemy, but fails or course. In the meantime, Achilles honor is slapped around when Agamemnon forgets to invite him to the victory feast. Reading the Iliad as a teen, the characters all seemed like cardboard cutouts moving across a board. This is the first adaptation of the story I've ever seen that makes the people come alive and explains their motives and desires. If you any interest in the Trojan War at all, get this series.

JLA: Classified Cold Steel #1: "The Hidden World": The look of Aquaman sets the time of this story for us nicely. The artwork is nice, as I would expect from Moeller. The story is standard fare, but might improve in the final part. Overall, a good book. It will be interesting to see how it turns out.