Here are reviews of the
DCBS comic books that I've gotten around to reading and reviewing, sorted by the original shipping date:
- Oct 24th
Titans #28 - A Drowned Earth tie-in, with Garth as a main character. The Heroes in Crisis storyline feeds into this one as well, since Titans apparently died in that (hard for me to take any superhero death seriously, sorry). It took me WAY too long to figure out who Steel was, otherwise it was a mostly ok story with some good moments. It showed Garth's powers and referenced the Titans as they were, so I thought it was decent.- Batman Beyond #25 - This is a perfect jump-on issue, with lots of backstory and explanation of what has been happening in this version of the DCU to get to this tale. A little bit of classic Batman along with the new, and lots of references to the past. A good one to pick up if you just want to know what Batman Beyond is about.
- Scooby-Doo Team-Up #43 - Thanks to watching the Doom Patrol show, I knew what was happening when the Mystery Machine ended up on Danny the Street. It also gave me a good idea of what was happening throughout the rest of the book. I'm not sure if this is the strangest team-up these guys have done, but it's definitely odd.
- Mystery Science Theater 3000 #2 - Um. Wow. Ok. That was remarkably confusing and a whole lotta fun. I'm not entirely sure what I was reading there, but by the end I was just enjoying the ride and ignoring the plot, such as it is. I suspect fans of MST3K would enjoy this, as would fans of old comic books.
Beasts of Burden: Wise Dogs and Eldritch Men #3 - Oh, I had a feeling about that dog. I didn't have the advantage the Wise Dogs had, though, of being able to smell him as well. Still, I had a distinct feeling, no doubt based on subtle clues the artist and writer provided, that they were walking into a trap. And it turns out they knew it, too. So how is this going to play out? I can hardly wait for the next issue.
Usagi Yojimbo: The Hidden #7 - And Sakai nails the landing. This final issue was mostly one big battle over a book, but OH what a battle. And what an outcome! I never suspected, not even for a moment, that final revelation. Of course, if anyone could have pulled it off, it would have been Ishida. Wow. Fantastic. Get this series.
- Oct 31st
Justice League/Aquaman: Drowned Earth #1 - I want to like this. It's a crossover featuring Mera! But, it's really not that great. The art is weak and the plot is depressing. There's just not a lot here for me to enjoy beyond Aquaman and Mera. There's even a timing conflict with Titans. I'm tired of stories that are about world-threatening horrors. I just want GOOD stories.
Heroes in Crisis #2 - Yeah, so when I read the first issue I didn't register who had died. And I'm still not sure who was supposed to have perished. And some big part of me rejects this entire storyline, because the heroes/villains supposedly killed off will no doubt be back soon enough. So I'm just not sure how to react to this thing. I just find myself sighing and hoping it leads to some interesting story, because so far I'm not impressed. Um, is it mean of me to say Lagoon Boy's death is no big loss to the DCU?- Green Lantern/Huckleberry Hound Special #1 - I really don't know what kind of story I was expecting with a crossover like this, but it was NOT this story. This was excellent. Huckleberry Hound was less a character than a sounding board, but it made for a good story anyway. I don't really know that much about John Stewart's Green Lantern, so I don't know how much of this is canon in the current DCU, but it worked as a story and it worked for the character. Good stuff. I did not read the back-up story.
Archie Meets Batman '66 #4 - This is a stark contrast to the dreary Archie 1941 that I'm also reading. But then, anything involving Batman '66 has always been great, particularly when Jeff Parker is writing it. This issue gets Batman/Bruce Wayne into Riverdale and also shows off how resilient Jughead, of all people, actually is. And no, that's not the Bat-signal. I never thought I'd see a Jughead signal.- Stranger Things #2 - Oh man. When I watched the first season, I wondered how Will had survived there. This comic series gives some answers, and shows how it looked from Will's side. It's terrifying. I really need to go watch the second and third seasons some time, too.
- Edgar Allan Poe's Snifter of Terror #1 - I am not a big horror fan - at least not of gory or gross horror. Thus, the first story in this book really does absolutely nothing for me. The second story made me squee, though, using certain iconic characters the way it did. Now, full disclosure, I planned to only order The Wrong Earth and Captain Ginger from Ahoy Comics, because they were the two that appealed to me. This book got added to my list only because they accepted a story from me, and it was due to be printed in an issue of this title. So I figured I had better read the whole series. Despite not really enjoying the, um, atmosphere of the first story, I'm glad I got it. It may not be completely my cuppa, but it's certainly not bad.
Justice League #8 - Still completely crap, but there's some nice Black Manta characterization, so it wasn't a complete waste.
Justice League #6 - Nope. Still no interest.
Doctor Strange #4 - About time someone told Strange off. Now, I hope the fellow tells him off some more, but I suspect we're going to have to put up with more arrogance before the final fall.
Green Lanterns #54 - Man, those rings are really insecure if THAT guy can hack into them. In fact, for the most powerful weapon in the universe, they are pretty much useless if any old idiot can take them over.
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