Sunday, January 05, 2014

A Sunday Review

DCBS
Here are reviews of the DCBS comic books that I've gotten around to reading and reviewing, sorted by the original shipping date:
  • Nov 13th
  • Justice League of America #9 - This issue raises a lot of questions. But it also has Aquaman in it, even if he's not quite himself, so I enjoyed it.
  • Green Lantern Corps #25 - Wow. This one... wow. This is a stand alone issue, and worth picking up. There's almost nothing of superheroes in it. Just... wow. Very nicely done.
  • World's Finest #17 - The thought of a superhero trying to get a tattoo while her powers have gone wonky is just funny enough to make this one work for me.
  • Smallville Season 11 #19 - Um, yay Wonder Woman?
  • Astro City #6 - This one promises more to come, doesn't it? There's going to be something else happening with this guy in the future. I wonder what it'll be?
  • Doctor Who: Prisoners of Time #11 - This time we don't even bother with the adventure, it's just right into the chase to find the big bad. However, the little dialogue about the adventure we didn't see is hilarious.
  • Three #2 - This issue picks up right where the previous issue ends, but then skips out to see the point of view from the masters' side of things. Very nicely done.
  • Grimm Fairy Tales: Oz #4 - If you ignore the horrible outfits the women are "wearing", it's not that bad a series. Unfortunately, the lack of clothing on the female characters is annoying.
  • Spongebob Comics #26 - Ah Spongebob! The usual fun stuff in this one. I was grateful that they "censored" the sneezes.
  • Nov 20th
  • Trinity of Sin: Pandora #5 - I'm sure it's really comforting for Pandora to be told she suffered for nothing at all. Yup. Uh-huh. I just wonder if it's true.
  • Green Lantern: New Guardians #25 - So the little blue guys are trying to find a better way and take Kyle to paradise. Nifty.
  • Batman Beyond Universe #4 - Two solid finishes to two stories. The Justice League takes care of business first, again with Aquagirl showing off her abilities. Then more of Batman's bad guy. A decent book.
  • Batman '66 #5 - Fun Sandman-guy. And Batgirl was a bit of a hoot. This book is a neat addition to the DC line-up.
  • Scooby Doo Team-up #1 - I like that this book is willing to make fun of itself even while it's having a good time with a silly story. Yep, this is a keeper.
  • Doctor Who: Prisoners of Time #12 - And so it ends, the only way it could end. Yes, the ending is a tad predictable, but only because it was telegraphed in advance. Still, lots of fun.
  • Fables #135 - We've been off in other bits for so long I'd forgotten about Rose's quest. Fun stuff.
  • The Legend of Oz: The Wicked West #13 - I've often felt sad about the flying monkeys once I learned their true origin. Even with gorillas in the place of monkeys, this version manages to bring in some of the pathos of the original.
  • Nov 27th
  • Aquaman #25 - And that's a wrap for this version of Aquaman. On to the new version! I have mixed feelings. The New 52 has been kind to Aquaman overall, but there are nitpicky things I have tiny issues with. I have high hopes for the new writer's run... but I'm ready for DC itself to disappoint me.
  • Justice League Dark #25 - I've never been a big fan of Constantine. I bought this book to see the dark version of Aquaman... and there he is! Not sure what he's up to, but I guess that's for the next issue?
  • Powers: Bureau #8 - I'm never sure where this book is going, so I'm not at all sure what happened to Christian, just that something definitely happened.
  • Itty Bitty Hellboy #4 - This is such a fun little book. Heckboy!
  • Mr Peabody and Sherman #1 - I never watched the show as a kid, so I have no nostalgia-thing going on (unlike hubby-Eric). I was amused by the origin story and found the rest of the book mildly funny.
  • Doctor Who V3 #15 - It's the end of the world! Nice how they got the war Doctor in there.
  • Hoax Hunters #12 - This book was never particularly strong on art and story flow, but it's gotten worse, to the point I'm not entirely sure what's happening any more.
  • Peanuts V2 #13 - The usual fun stuff involving the gang. I have always loved the strip that's printed here where Linus questions going to school and Charlie Brown gives him the perfect answer.



My library book this week was Dragonbreath #6: Revenge of the Horned Bunnies by Ursula Vernon. Danny and Wendell go to camp! Again, not enough science and learning. I was really spoiled by the awesome volume about bats. This one has moments, particularly when children deal with adults who aren't being good. Danny dealing with someone almost as annoying as he is also was a nice touch. The return of Christiana was ok, but she plays a little too much like a female Wendell at times... then again, it's nice to see Danny ganged up on. Overall, fun.



My mystery book this week was The Alpine Nemesis by Mary Daheim. A old feud results in big news in tiny Alpine. I honestly cannot believe this one. I mean, it's such a twist in the overall story and yet fits all the facts from before. It's pretty amazing. I didn't expect it, though I was expecting something to happen once Emma had a taste of happy. Anyway, it was a rather deep read in some ways, very superficial in others. I wonder about Emma's observational skills. I had part of the mystery figured out early, but a lot of it was stuff you couldn't know without more facts. I'll note that hilarious bits of Alpine from the previous book morphed into something very different in this one. Now I can't wait to start the next book! If you want to start the Alpine series, I strongly recommend starting at the first book, The Alpine Advocate.



1 comments:

Arion said...

I'm also reading Gillen's Three. So far I'm enjoying it.