A Sunday Comic Books Review

Here are reviews of the DCBS comic books that I've gotten around to reading and reviewing, sorted by the original shipping date:

• Mar 21st
• Aquaman #34 - If I have a major criticism of Rath, it's that he's so cookie-cutter tyrant-y. He's predictable in his unpredictability. He's clearly slowly going mad. And he's just not interesting enough to hold my interest for an entire issue, when all that really happens is he makes a literal power-grab.
• Justice League #41 - Aquaman's tiny appearance in this one was perhaps its only redeeming quality for me. I'm not sure what to expect from the remainder of this storyline, but it seems like it will be overblown and nearly incomprehensible.
• Green Lanterns #43 - I'm not entirely certain I understand what Jessica did, but I liked the effect it had. I also think Simon took entirely the wrong message from Jessica's example. Not a bad finish to a disturbing story.
• Bombshells United #14 - The Suicide Squad jumps in and everything gets even MORE confusing. Without Mera and Arthur, this book holds little interest for me.
• Usagi Yojimbo: The Hidden #1 - Oh, I've missed this book. And this issue is a fantastic one, reminding us of a bit of Japanese history (there's a detailed explanation of it in the text page at the back). I have to wonder about the item that was stolen and what sort of significance it might have. I'm really looking forward to the rest of this series.
• Mar 28th
• Mera: Queen of Atlantis #2 - Orm is trying to be so noble and heroic here, trying to live up to his new family... and boom, he fails. For his land-family's sake, I really hope he just goes back to land with them. The art in this book is exceptional. Beautifully clean lines. I really enjoyed it visually.
• Teen Titans #18 - I honestly feel like teenagers in the DCU would be a little more tech-saavy and hesitate before using a syringe gun to shoot an implant up their noses. Then again, this was clearly an ongoing effort on the part of Nevrland to cultivate just the right audience. One that was lonely and sad enough to take the word of a similarly geeky person at face value. The question then becomes "why?" Why would she have the kid drive the bus off a bridge? Why attack the Titans? So far, the villain's motives are utterly unclear.
• Batman Beyond #18 - My first reaction was "all that work just to get Matt into the Robin suit." Of course, there is more to the story that just that, but that felt like the most important part. It's on the cover, after all. The revelation about Payback was also a strong moment, so the issue has more going for it. But that Robin moment is certainly the big bit.
• Scooby-Doo Team-Up #36 - The cover says "Too Many Kooks!" and the story more than lives up to that. Angel and the Ape, The Inferior Five, Stanley and his Monster and a special guest duo... yeah. Not to mention the obvious callbacks to Jerry Lewis, Bob Hope and others. Even if you've never read the original source material, this was fun. If you have? This was fantastic.
• Rough Riders: Ride or Die #2 - Zombies and cultists and Lovecraft, oh my! I don't really know what to say about this book, other than to say I really enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to the next issue.