Showing posts with label Detective. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Detective. Show all posts

Sunday, August 10, 2008

A Sunday Review

TV this week:

  • Ghost Hunters International: "Shattered Spirit" - While the picture was interesting, I couldn't describe it as a ghost. The sounds they heard... well, despite everything they still might have been the house settling. And I just don't know about the EVPs or the doll falling. But I'm still not convinced with this one.
  • Big Daddy's House: "Boy's Night In" - A promising start for the next Food Network Star winner. I like his son. And the food looked pretty good, too.
  • Iron Chef America: "Morimoto vs Ophaso" - No contest on this one, but there's no way you could get me to eat any of those foods.
  • Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives: "Where the Locals Eat" - Oh man, I'd love to try those crab cakes and hushpuppies at the first place. And I want to try the french toast at the third place. I'm not a chicken fan, so the second place did nothing for me.
  • American Gladiators: "The Winners Are Declared" - I missed most of the season because Eric wanted to watch the Maria show, but I really didn't miss much, except the introduction of some new events. And hey, I got to see the final episode.
  • Ghost Hunters International: "Hauntings of South Africa" - This one was a good example of how easy it is for people to fool themselves. Some good debunking went on, but they still declared the place haunted based on EVPs. The prison was interesting, but Barry is about as trustworthy a witness as Brian.
  • Olympics Opening Ceremonies - We TiVo'ed the CBC coverage, and it wasn't bad overall. The parade of nations was chopped up a bit by ads, which often happens, and of course once the Canadians came in they spent too much time interviewing Canadian Olympians who all basically said they same thing and not enough covering the other nations. The spectacle was impressive as usual. The drumming was particularly cool, as was the moveable type. The lighting of the flame was also excellent. And I liked the footprint fireworks walking to the stadium. Now: sports. I wish we weren't moving, we would be able to see more of the events.
  • Food Detectives: "Double Dippers" - I never thought double dipping was so bad. Yuck. I knew why you should start with cold water when boiling, but I didn't know that trick with the onions. As for ginger help with motion sickness... it doesn't seem to help a lot, just a little. But maybe I should invest in some ginger pills anyway.
  • Ace of Cakes: "Pandamonium" - The panda cake was really impressive. It's like the first cake they ever made that just seemed to go right all the way through. But I really want a deep dish Chicago Pizza cake, chocolate, for myself.
Comics this week:
  • Doctor Who Classics #9 - I'd forgotten about the old abbot and the jelly babies. For that matter, I'd forgotten who the baddies of the story were. It was fun to read this again.
  • Final Crisis #3 - New Aquaman? What was wrong with the old ones? *sigh* I wanted to like this, but the more I read, the less I enjoy it.
  • Jonah Hex #34 - What an incredibly depressing story.
  • Detective Comics #847 - Would this story be any better if I knew who Hush was? Or cared?

Sunday, June 08, 2008

A Sunday Review

TV this week:

  • Iron Chef America: "Batali vs Bartolotta" - Yay! Batali! And a very interesting ingredient as well. Not to mention a challenger who is nearly as fun to watch as Batali himself. This was a good one.
  • Classic Doctor Who: "Invasion of Time" Parts 5 & 6 - Enter the potato-heads! Didn't like these two episodes as much as the previous two. Yeah, fun inside the TARDIS, but it was mostly running around and not much else. Par for the course for classic Doctor Who, I guess. No Classic Who on PBS for awhile, it's pledge month.
  • The Next Food Network Star: "Star Quality" - Here we go again! I don't expect that my favorite will ever make it to the final, but I sure had hopes that the one I like least is knocked out in the first round. Unfortunately, fashion lady stays in while unfunny comic leaves. Not an auspicious start for the show.
  • Ghost Hunters: "Widow's Watch" - Sometimes I think I learn more about human psychology from this show than anything else. I'm fascinated by the way people fool themselves, but more delighted when they figure something out. The experiment with the broken fan was a great way to show how external noises/malfunctioning electronics can seem like the supernatural. The less said about the second place, the better. Total losers.
  • Have I Got News For You: "Alexander Armstrong, Michael McIntyre, and Clare Balding" - Ah, I enjoyed this one. I guess I've recovered from the Brian Blessed episode. Lots of laughing during this one, and I liked Clare a lot.
  • Doctor Who: "Forest of the Dead" Originally listed as "River's Run" - Thanks to the original title, and a bit of foreshadowing in the first episode, I actually managed to figure this one out. Well, most of it. Well, part of it. Well, enough to make me happy. There were still a lot of surprises, and I was literally on the edge of my seat for most of the episode. As for what she whispered to him.... WHOA. I hope we see more of River in the future...or the past.
Comics this week:
  • Trinity #1 - Hrm. It's a start. Not horrible, but not really engaging to me, either.
  • Detective Comics #845 - Another done-in-one, and a good one at that. Gotham is not a place I'd want to live.
  • Justice Society of America #16 - Not enough Ma Hunkel. But this is promising. Who wants to bet it all ends with a nasty fight, though? A power like that just won't fit into the DC Universe.
  • Justice League Unlimited #46 - Hrm. A Green Lantern story. I've never been a fan of the cosmic tales, so this wasn't a good send-off for the book in my opinion.
  • Jonah Hex #32 - I knew who was going to end up dead at the end of the story. Still, it worked. Not my favorite book, but it's Hex.
  • Invincible Iron Man #2 - Nice cliffhanger.
  • Noble Causes #34 - Want to go back to the days of Liz and Race. I feel like that plot never finished, and I'm just not confident that this will lead back to that.
  • Witchblade #118 - Yikes. Conclusion to one tale, but lots of plot threads for future ones. This book isn't half bad.
  • Red Sonja #34 - Oooh, that's a twist I wasn't really expecting. That actually would explain a lot about Sonja.
  • Doctor Who Classics #7 - Better than I remembered it. And it's never looked so good.
This week's library movie was Superman - Doomsday. I hate the voices. Hate them. Worst voice casting ever. Ok, maybe not... the problem is that I liked the voices from the old series. Even after all these years, I would have preferred them to reprise their roles. It took a full half hour into the movie before I started to accept the new voices. As for the movie itself, I prefer the comic book version of the story. This was weak on plot and substance, and felt like it could have been done in half the time without losing anything of value. The fights were long, dramatic, and boring (which is a neat trick). I don't really recommend this one.

My library book this week was Fugitives of Chaos by John C Wright. Five children, five different ways of looking at the world, and all of them are right. The true genius of this series is the way it takes those opposing viewpoints and makes them work together. The whole sex and Grendel thing is more than a little disturbing, but it doesn't overpower the rest of the story. This book ends on a more dramatic cliffhanger than the first book, but I knew it was a trilogy going into reading it. So far, a pretty good read.

This week's Agatha Christie book was Murder on the Links (aka The Girl with the Anxious Eyes) from 1923. This is her third book, and the second Poirot novel. I'm really liking Poirot more and more. I can see why these books took off so well. They are written in an easygoing style, fun to read, and you always find yourself guessing along with the characters. Once again I didn't figure it out, so I'm 0-3 on Agatha Christie mysteries (although I was really close with the last book). I'm still trying to pull together a list of complete Christie works, and it's not nearly as easy as I hoped thanks to the odd publishing history of her stories (lots of alternate titles!). But I'm getting closer. Now the only problem is getting the books from the library in good time. Luckily, I have a library system that is likely to have most, if not all, her books.

Fortean Times #237 arrived on the 5th, and I already devoured it *burp*. This is the only magazine that I read cover to cover every time I get one, skipping only the ads (though I tend to giggle at them). This month the cover article was on Crystal Skulls (gee, I wonder why?). I really enjoyed the article on haunted lighthouses. I want to move into one someday. A lighthouse. The "haunted" bit isn't required. Moving on, I really enjoyed Rupert Sheldrake's letter about skepticism, and I think it successfully sums up my own opinion on the subject. The full page comic was missing, and the issue seemed to end abruptly, but it was a good issue that yielded three more books from the reviews that I put on hold at the library. And I've still got two books from the last Fortean Times on hold to read!

Sunday, April 06, 2008

A Sunday Review

TV this week: Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives: "Neighborhood Joints" (some of these folks have really long weeks), Robin Hood: "A Good Day to Die" (wow, intense talking scenes, and the most that Little John has ever said), Robin Hood: "We Are Robin Hood!" (I really really didn't expect the ending, and I'm glad I managed to avoid spoilers about it), Ghost Hunters: "Ghostly Bounty Hunter" (nothing in this one but good tales that turned out to be false, and a bat), Destination Truth: "Flying Dinosaur; Sloth Monster" (way more bats than Ghost Hunters had), I also saw ads for Sarah Jane Adventures during both Ghost Hunters and Destination Truth, Supernanny: "Addis Family" (dinnertime problems brought back really bad memories for me), Ace of Cakes: "Duff's Birthday" (meatball cake for the goofball), Torchwood: "Exit Wounds" (whoa. intense. too bad I had one of the major plot points spoiled), and Doctor Who: "Partners in Crime" (I prefer my weight loss program).

Weight Loss the Doctor Who way

Comics this week: Countdown 4 shows me that I clearly missed out on a lot of Mary Marvel storyline, since I haven't got a clue what the deal is with Darkseid. Detective #843 is as good as all the rest of Dini's issues, but there's a bit of continuity I'm not familiar with in this issue that made it a strange read. I also read Action #863, which was a suitable finish to the Legion tale. I found the two-page house ad for Final Crisis at the end of the book to be strange and slightly disappointing.

Justice League Unlimited #44 was a little depressing in the way it humanized another villain, something this series has done before. It's a shame this series is ending. It's probably the best Justice League series ever. I'm not sure what to make of Jonah Hex #30. It was a story told from the wrong angle. I think I liked it. And lastly for this week, PS238 #30 was excellent as usual! The Las Vegas saga gets nicely wrapped up and Tyler starts a new adventure. I love this book.

I also got Holmes from AiT/Planet Lar as a review copy. I think the description on the website says all that really needs to be said, "Omaha Perez' vicious skewering of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic..." I will confess that I've never been a big fan of Sherlock Holmes. In fact, I consider him an unsufferable twit. I adored a Doctor Who novel (All-Consuming Fire) that took Holmes into a fantastical setting in which Watson could cope but Holmes could not. This graphic novel goes quite a bit further, making both Watson and Holmes out to be insane drug-addicts. It's very strange, very raunchy, and a bit over the top in places. I can't really recommend it to most folks, but if you dislike Holmes already or like re-imaginings of classic characters, this is one you should check out.

While on the trip to Portland last week, we listened to Doctor Who: Spare Parts from Big Finish productions. This was an intense audio story about the origin of the Cybermen. The story is about the need to survive and the lengths to which people will go simply to continue existing. The story is chilling from start to finish in more than one way. I've listened to a few of the Big Finish audios, and I think this is one of the best.

This week's library movie was Surf's Up. As I somehow collect penguins (or do they collect me?) I tend to like the idea of another penguin movie. The style is very clever, as a documentary about Cody, a penguin surfer wannabe. The story is a bit like Karate Kid with surfing. I would not have enjoyed this movie if it were just a standard surfer movie: the penguins pretty much made it watchable. I really liked the Pen Gu-ins that Chicken Joe befriends. It's a fun little romp.

My library book this week was Dragon Harper by Todd and Anne McCaffrey. I have been a fan of Pern since I was a pre-teen. I've read all the Pern books I could lay hands on, and loved them dearly. Well, most of them. The collaborations between Todd and his mother on Pern have been... not quite a strong. The writing is less finished, like it needs about three more drafts. The action sometimes just jumps, leaving out key moments or transitions. I actually found typos in this one, which doesn't generally happen to me. While I'm certainly interested in this history of Pern, I don't find it nearly as satisfying as the original Pern novels. I'll keep reading these, but Pern is no longer on my "must buy in hardcover!" list.

Sunday, February 10, 2008

A Sunday Review

This week started out with hubby-Eric, two other friends (including Pontoon MiniCity owner), and I all watching the Superbowl together. We were cheering the Giants and hoping for good ads. The best one was the Coke ad with the balloons, but the Bridgestone ad with Richard Simmons was also pretty good. We also enjoyed the game a lot. It was a good excuse for a little party.

On the TV, I saw the remainder of the American Gladiators that got cut off last week (fun), and the new American Gladiators (also fun), House: "Frozen" (eek!), the Conan/Colbert/Stewart brawl (see here and here), Ghost Hunters International: "Fortress of Fear" (cool location, Barry is hilarious as usual), Torchwood: "Meat" (ew gross), Supernanny (if she's a supernanny, what's her super power?), and Ace of Cakes (I love cake).

I checked out Far Out: 101 Strange Tales from Science's Outer Edge by Mark Pilkington from the library. There are 101 short articles, all with a feel somewhere between Fortean Times and Damn Interesting, about science on the fringe. Most of the science is junk/discarded theories, but some is still viable and it's all fascinating. It's a very cool little book, worth a look.

Another library book was The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill. As I read the other ones, I figured I ought to read this one too. But I didn't want it enough to buy it, so I waited for a library copy. It's a mishmash of a book, with lots of the usual Moore stuff (i.e. "Not for Kids"). The wonderful mining of literature is fun for anyone who is well-read, but might be boring/incomprehensible for non-English Majors. There was a bit too much of the text pieces for this to really be called a graphic novel, in my opinion. The only text piece I couldn't get through was the beat novel, which was pretty much unreadable for me. The Jeeves and Wooster bit was hilarious. The 3-D ending was slightly annoying, and maybe even a little disappointing. All-in-all, though, it was a fun package.

Hubby-Eric and I watched more of Sapphire and Steel: "The Railway Station". Scary bits in this one, as they learn more about the soldier and what's really controlling his actions.

I read my comic books this week in record time. Justice League Unlimited #42 was a bittersweet story that makes me dislike Green Lantern. I was a tad confused by JSA #12, but then the cast of team books always has that potential. I really like Cyclone (Maxine Hunkel), and her inability to shut up still amuses me. I found myself nearly breathless when I saw Joseph Curry's image on the table, and started to ache for what some time with the JSA could do for him. Oh yes, put Artie Joe in the JSA! Ahem...

Going back to another Aqua-character, Teen Titans: Year One #2 is so incredibly disappointing to me that it's not even funny. The mistreatment of Aqualad is intense in this issue. Not only is he drawn completely incorrectly and incredibly ugly, but the various bits of "can't breathe" go just a little overboard. I understand... some of it was needed for the tale. But this book treats the character like an utter joke. I want very badly to like this book, but I can't. It's just awful. Once again, THIS is what Aqualad looked like:

Real Aqualad

Moving on... I also read Detective Comics #841, which was a nice one-shot featuring the Mad Hatter. I was very disturbed by Jonah Hex #28. A boy wants revenge for a lynching, and Hex ... no, no spoilers. But it was disturbing. Phantom #21 had a surprising event. If it stands, if it isn't a trick, it's a serious shock to any Phantom fan. Star Wars: Rebellion #11 is the start of a new story, and it's somewhat promising. The ending makes me wonder how the heroes can possibly get out of it, which is what you want from a book like this, I think. Northlanders #3 continues the excellence, as Sven begins a reign of terror. I'm enjoying this book a lot. And lastly, True Story, Swear to God #10 is one of those books where you might need a tissue handy while you are reading it. The book was a good reminder that all relationships require work, but the best relationships are worth the effort.

A comic I was given was The Last Musketeer by Jason, published by Fantagraphics. It's a very simple book, with a standard evil villain, a noble hero, and the sassy female helper. The art is basic but draws you in, the writing is plain but also manages to do the job. It's a very odd, very interesting little book.

Another library book was Redwall: The Graphic Novel. I read the original book a long time ago. This was a pretty straightforward retelling. Not much else I can say, really.

Anyone who knows I have an interest in the paranormal won't be surprised I checked out Ghosts, Critters & Sacred Places of Washington and Oregon by Jefferson Davis. I was mildly disappointed by it. It's a good collection of ghost stories, but there isn't much beyond just stories. The critters and sacred places get seriously short shrifted here. The writing level is a bit jarring, I expected something other than a book written at a grade-school level. On the other hand, it wouldn't be a horrible book to give to a kid interested in the topic. I think it could've used a good editor and another draft: I found lots of typos while reading it. On the plus side, the book has an index and every section has bibliographic information, so finding original sources of any story shouldn't be tough. Overall, not a bad read. Just not what I was hoping for or expecting.

We got another copy of Ratatouille from the library to watch. This one played, although there was a headache-inducing moment in a later scene where it stopped... but when hubby-Eric restarted the scene, it played all the way through. Yes, that was a very good movie. I now understand why people like it so much. If you get your hands on the DVD, be sure to watch "Your Friend The Rat". It's worth it just for the Canadian video game spoof.

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Really Rapid Reviews

These are mini-capsules: about one sentence per book with whether or not I recommend the book.

3 February 2007

JLA Classified #33: "The 4th Parallel" part 2a: Eh. I could take it or leave it. This one just does nothing for me. Mildly recommended.

Phantom Annual #1: "Five Days of the Dragon": I really liked this one. The ending was a bit weak, but the other stories were wonderful. Recommended.

Nodwick #36: "The Evil Wed(ding)": I like how everything ties up at the end. It's a good one! It's also the final issue of this version of Nodwick. Recommended.

Usagi Yojimbo #100: It's the freakin' 100th issue. Of course it's good. It's just not the normal stuff, since it's a jam issue with all kinds of guest art and writing. Recommended, but only for people who are already fans of Usagi.

7 February 2007

52 Week Forty: "Man Ain't Nothing But A Man": Lorena has a good role in this, and it confirms that she's part of the Titans during the missing year. Now I want to see more of the Titans during the missing year. Recommended.

Detective Comics #828: "Sharkbite": Another great standalone story, yet set in the wider context of modern Batman comics. WHY CAN'T MOST COMICS BE LIKE THIS? The Aquaman reference didn't hurt my opinion of the book, either. Highly recommended.

Action Comics Annual #10: Not bad. Kind of Silver Age-y in a good sort of way. If I was more interested in Superman, I would have enjoyed it much more. Recommended.

Justice League Unlimited #30: "Heavy Mettle": Booster Gold and Speedy? Booster Gold and Speedy!?? Oh my. Recommended.

Shazam: The Monster Society of Evil #1: "YROOB SZH Z HVXIVG!*": Very cute. Kinda cuddly, even. And sweet. Odd, in some ways. Recommended.

Astro City: The Dark Age Book Two #2: "Eyes of a Killer": If you are going to set up a story like this, the cliffhanger at the end of this issue is definitely a fantastic pay-off! Highly recommended.

X-Men Annual #1: "Covenant": My friend asked me to pick this book up for him because he'd been told it would be a good jumping on point. So I thought, what the heck, I'll read it too! Not bad, but the cliffhanger means nothing to me. Mildly recommended.

Lone Ranger #4: This book jumps around a little too much for me, but it's starting to come together in my mind. Mildly recommended.

Star Trek: The Next Generation #1: "The Space Between": Artwork on a licensed comic is so difficult to do "right", and I think this book just barely manages it. The story was intriguing, at least. Mildly recommended.

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Really Rapid Reviews

These are mini-capsules: about one sentence per book with whether or not I recommend the book. The dates of the reviewed books are the dates I received them, which may be different from the official shipped dates due to West Coast delays.

28 December 2006

52 Week Thirty-Four: "Suicial Tendencies": Mostly set-up in this issue, for events that are about to happen. Mildly recommended.

Detective Comics #827: "Double Talk": A new scarface, huh? How soon before the Orca comes back? Mildly recommended.

Age of Bronze #24: "Betrayal 5": If you are reading this, good for you. If you aren't, START READING THIS BOOK. Highly recommended.

Usagi Yojimbo #99: "Bridge of Tears": It's rare to see Usagi being a cad, but it's going to get him into more trouble in the future, isn't it? Recommended.

4 January 2007

52 Week Thirty-Five: "Rain of the Supermen": Worst pun title ever. Hey, Lorena shows up in this one! Mildly recommended.

Batman #661: "Grotesk" part 3: While I don't much like this story so far, having the groups of bad guys go after each other was nice. Very mildly recommended.

Superman #658: "The Last Tomorrow": Arion's flash-forward finishes, and I'm not sure he's saying what he's saying. Mildly recommended.

Guy Gardner Collateral Damage #2: Meh. Not recommended.

JSA Classified #20: "Skin Trade Part Two: Surgical Strike": This whole tale is just ick. Very mildly recommended.

JLA Classified #31: "Secret History, Sacred Trust" part six: I like Aquaman's different outfits in this one. Otherwise, I'm just glad the story is over. Mildly recommended.

Justice League of America #5: "Born Again": I just can't work up any sympathy for this story. Needs some Aquaman. Mildly recommended.

Justice League Unlimited #29: "Untamed": This is what a good all-around DC Universe book should be like. B'wana Beast! Heh. Recommended.

Justice #9: Um. Ok. We'll just have to see where this goes, I guess. Recommended.

Powers #22: The opening of this one had to hit home to all the fanboys reading it. Recommended.

10 January 2007

52 Week Thirty-Six: "How to Win a War in Space": Is the answer to the title "get Lobo so peeved he joins in"? Nice subtle cliffhanger. Recommended.

Green Lantern Corps #8: "The Dark Side of Green" part two: I don't like Guy, I don't like space sruff all that much. So this isn't my kind of story. Neutral.

Batman #662: "Grotesk" conclusion: Didn't we just get an issue of this last week? Yes? Stupid shipping delays. At least this is the last issue of this storyline. Very mildly recommended.

Justice Society of America #2: "The Next Age": Love the cover. Yet another book (besides Ion) which indicates that (spoilers)(end spoilers). Mildly recommended.

JSA Classified #21: "Best Served Cold...": This is all Hawkman. Nothing here for me. Neutral.

Only last week's books to go... and this week's books by the time I get to last week's books. *sigh*

Friday, December 08, 2006

Really Rapid Reviews

These are mini-capsules: about one sentence per book with whether or not I recommend the book.

Tony Loco
6 December 2006

Tony Loco #1: Hey, I've already reviewed this one! It's good, so try it. Recommended.

52 Week Thirty-One: "Human Resources": Ok, now we know what Lobo is up against. Nifty. Mildly Recommended.

Detective Comics #826: "Slayride": Oh dear. "Sanity Claus" makes this one for me. Probably the best Joker story I've read. Recommended.

Justice Society of America #1: "The Next Age Chapter 1": Maxine Hunkel... referring to Wicked repeatedly. I like her already. But she'll never live up to Ma's legacy. Never. Mildly Recommended.

Justice League Unlimited #28: "Season's Beatings Justice League": This book is so consistently good, I kind of wish everyone was reading it. Recommended.

Ha, caught up again!

Friday, November 10, 2006

Really Rapid Reviews

These are mini-capsules: one sentence per book (unless I feel like writing a bit more) with whether or not I recommend the book.

25 October 2006

52 Week Twenty-Five: "Liminal Times": Best. Cover. Ever. Insides weren't as good. Mildly recommended.

JSA Classified #18: "The Venom Connection Part 2": Not too shabby. Recommended.

Action Comics #844: "Last Son Part One": Promising enough start, though I'm not sure just what happened at the end there, or how this is an opportunity for Luthor. Mildly recommended.

Secret Six #5: "Life As We Know It": I'm liking this book less and less with each issue. It's just too depraved. Not recommended.

Trials of Shazam #3: "Cover Me!": The art bothers me in some mild way that I can't describe. Otherwise, it's an ok book. Mildly recommended.

Ion #7: "Home Again": Eh. Neutral.

Justice #8: Ah, Mera and Aquaman. Who the heck is "Yuko" though? Recommended.

Thieves & Kings Presents: "The Walking Mage": Quinton has a very interesting way of looking at the world, and of teaching lessons. I would NOT want to be on his bad side. Recommended.

Cindy and Her Obasan: "Elvis and the Lost Halo": Sounded promising, so we got it. It was fun. Recommended.

Castle Waiting Vol II #2: A lovely trip into Jain's past, with a cliffhanger and wonderful sketches. Highly Recommended.

1 November 2006

52 Week Twenty-Six: "Halfway House": I'm liking Osiris, he seems to work well as a foil to both Isis and Black Adam. Mildly recommended.

Justice League of America #3: "The Brave & The Bold": Still hasn't hooked me, but at least the story seems to be starting to pull together. Mildly recommended.

Detective Comics #825: "The Return of Dr. Phosphorus!": I liked this book better with Dini writing it. Mildly recommended.

Justice League Unlimited #27: "Climb the Mountain": Fantastic Black Lightning story. Highly recommended.

Fallen Angel #10: "A Sad Song for Terry May": A nice short tale, more or less standalone, though it refers to previous events. Recommended.

Local #7: "Hazardous Youth": Megan had hit the point where she was not likable... now we meet her cousin Nicky and his Arizona life. Recommended.

Mouse Guard #5: "Midnight's Dawn": Intriguing. This is going to be a good title to read all at once. Recommended.

Aquaman review will go up later this evening. At the moment I'm off to see the Dead Sea Scrolls!